


Exceptis Centum

by PurrV



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Cardverse, Fluff, Light Horror, M/M, Mystery, light gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2019-07-21 00:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 156,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16148483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurrV/pseuds/PurrV
Summary: Every kingdom has a King. Every King has a Queen. They have a Jack who serves them in the open and an Ace who aids them in the shadows. Such it has always been in the four Kingdoms that governs the world.The wealthy Kingdom of Diamonds.The beautiful Kingdom of Hearts.The vast Kingdom of Clubs.The mighty Kingdom of Spades.Each has a King, each has a Queen, and together they rule their beloved kingdom as one. It has been this way for eons, as this was the natural law of the world.However the Kingdom of Spades has not had a Queen for a hundred years.





	1. Chapter 1

Every kingdom has a King. Every King has a Queen. They have a Jack who serves them in the open and an Ace who aids them in the shadows. Such it has always been in the four Kingdoms that governs the world.

The wealthy Kingdom of Diamonds.

The beautiful Kingdom of Hearts.

The vast Kingdom of Clubs.

The mighty Kingdom of Spades.

Each has a King, each has a Queen, and together they rule their beloved kingdom as one. It has been this way for eons, as this was the natural law of the world. 

However the Kingdom of Spades has not had a Queen for a hundred years.

——————————————

“Is there really a need to do this?” huffed Alfred, buttoning up his waistcoat and tightening his tie, “I mean, what is the point? Is there a point? What would be the worst case scenario if I didn’t do this?” The King of Spades looked over his shoulder. “Well?”

“It’s tradition,” answered Wang Yao, the Jack of Spades standing nearby as he watched the taller man dress himself, “as King it’s your duty to uphold and maintain our traditions.”

“I know that,” huffed Alfred, throwing on his coat and checking over himself in the mirror, “it’s just that this particular tradition requires a... y’know.”

Yao rolled his eyes, uncertain if the King was testing him on stupidity or something, after all the King did this same routine whenever certain events and ceremonies took place. “I am very well aware that this ceremony requires a Queen present-“

“Exactly!” Alfred stepped away from the mirror and approached the composed Jack. “There is no Queen, so why are we doing this!?”

“Because it’s tradition,” repeated Yao, raising his voice slightly as the young King’s attitude was starting to stress him out. “Besides, you know full well that since we lack a Queen the other Kingdoms lend us their Queen, and they don’t complain because it’s-”

“Tradition! Yeah, I get it.” Alfred stamped his foot upon the floor, leaving a crack upon the decorated stone, and mumbled foul words to himself. He knew that this upcoming ceremony was important, he knew that since his kingdom lacked a Queen the other kingdoms lent him their Queens... it just annoyed him that he had to do this with a Queen. As far as he was concerned the Kingdom of Spades seemed to be doing well without the presence of a Queen.

“Remind me again, which Queen is...”

“Queen Erika from the Diamond Kingdom,” answered Yao.

“Oh yeah,” muttered Alfred, instantly recalling that he got a letter a few weeks ago from Francis, the Diamond King, that expressed his eagerness to see him once again. “That reminds me, I better get the chefs to bring up that special reserve he likes.”

Yao seemed concerned now. “Look, could you please, PLEASE, try to focus on the task at hand,” he pleaded, “once it’s over you can go and party, eat and drink, flirt, I don’t care. Just please do this right.”

Alfred smirked and gave the Jack a reassuring pat on the back. “Relax Yao, I got this. It’s a simple task anyway and who better to do it than me!”

Yao wasn’t easily swayed with Alfred’s honeyed words, but he took it for what it was. Alfred may act like an overgrown child but when he set his mind to something he’d see it through his own unique way.

Now that he was properly dressed and looked like a proper regal King, Alfred exited his private chambers with Yao following close behind. As he walked through the beautiful hallways he was greeted by the maids, servants, and scholars who all bowed in the presence of their King. Alfred would either smile, wave or wink at his subjects, pleased to see that they were doing well and working hard.

He eventually reached the glass elevator, a servant holding it open for him and closing it once both the King and Jack were inside. As the elevator moved to the lower levels, Alfred gazed out at his Kingdom through the window. The sun was close to setting and already the lights of the great city surrounding the palace were flickering to life. The great universities where students from all over came to continue their education, the noble housing district with its glorious gardens, the bustling shopping plaza where you can buy anything your heart desired, and smack dab in the middle of it all was the great palace where he ruled from. Alfred could not help but smile every time he saw it, for he truly did love his kingdom.

He hadn’t been King for long. It had been six months since he had been crowned the King of Spades after the passing of his father, and in that short time Alfred had done his best to keep his beloved Kingdom running smoothly. During his father’s reign, Alfred admired at how hard his father worked, keeping trade running, maintaining peace, and paying attention to the needs of his people, and he did it all without a Queen. 

He was an exceptional King and Alfred was proud to had been his son. Now it was his turn to run the kingdom and he was going to make his father proud. After all, his father didn’t have a Queen, and the King before him didn’t have one either, and yet the kingdom continued to run like clockwork. He knew that each kingdom was supposed to have a Queen in their court but so far the Kingdom of Spades seemed to function well without one. 

What was the point of a Queen then? What was their purpose?

He remembered his coronation. He remembered the weight of the crown as it was placed upon his head. He remembered how the other Kings acknowledged him. How his people cheered. The delicious food, the festive music, even the dancing and the laughter, yet the one thing that he could never forget, the one thing that came into his mind when he thought about that day, was the empty throne next to him. The crown that sat upon it with no one to bear it.

Why did that bother him so much?

“Were you paying attention!?”

Alfred flinched when he realised Yao had been talking to him during their ride. “Um... yeah, I was,” he lied.

Yao saw through his lie and glared at the King. “Fine I’ll keep it simple. 1800 is when the King and Queen of Diamonds arrive, and we’ll be waiting for them outside. 1815 we escort them to the guest chamber near the garden and share drinks. 1845 is when you will address the guests in the main hall and at 1900 the ceremony will begin, it’ll last ten minutes max. Got that?”

Alfred nodded. “Greet, drink, speech and the big show, got it.”

“Your speech? Have you memorised it?” demanded Yao.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” assured Alfred, feeling the elevator coming to a halt and the door opening.

“And you know what to do during the-“

“Yes, I got it!” Alfred was starting to get royally pissed with the Jack’s constant nagging. Then again if he didn’t constantly pester him over his royal duties, who would?

————————————

“Don’t tell Ludwig this, but I do love visiting your marvellous kingdom,” proclaimed the Diamond King as he brushed his golden locks out of his blue eyes, “it’s not as pretty as mine, but it is still a sight to behold.”

“Aw thanks Francis,” chuckled Alfred, pouring the Diamond King another glass of wine, “I just hope the trip over wasn’t rough. I heard the roads have been getting worn down and I don’t want you breaking your back.”

“Oh trust me mon ami, my back has been through a lot worse,” laughed Francis.

The two Kings sat opposite each other and enjoyed the sweet beverage whilst engaging in friendly banter. Francis had been the King of Diamonds for some time and he had assisted Alfred during his early days as the King of Spades. He did have a slightly annoying habit of flirting at anything with two legs, but he was like a big brother of sorts and he was quite possibly the only one outside of his court that Alfred trusted.

Francis brought his full glass to his lips, inhaling the sweet scent of the wine. “My sweet Queen won’t admit it but she is a little nervous about the ceremony.”

Alfred glanced over from where he and Francis sat, where Yao was casually talking with the Jack of Diamonds along with the Queen of Diamonds. She was such a small creature, with a delicate frame and an innocent face. From what Francis had told him, Queen Erika was loved by her people and she aided him in the governing of the Diamond Kingdom. Despite her frail appearance she was incredibly supportive and did everything in her power to keep her people content and safe.

“You know it’s rude to stare at a lady.”

Alfred quickly returned his gaze back to Francis, the fair King smirking mischievously. “You’re lucky my Jack didn’t notice, he’s quite protective of her.”

“I bet,” chuckled Alfred, trying to keep his cheeks from turning bright red.

Francis placed his glass down and leaned back against the velvet couch he sat upon. “It still bothers you, I see.”

“What does?” Alfred seemed confused.

“Come now Alfred, I can read you like a book,” teased Francis, brushing his golden locks back. “You’ve always been bothered by this ever since you became King.”

Seeing where this conversation was going, Alfred huffed and folded his arms. “It doesn’t bother me,” he stated.

Francis smirked and shook his head. “Don’t be in denial, it’ll give you wrinkles. Look Alfred, there is no shame in not having a-“

“We don’t need one,” declared Alfred.

That seemed to have surprised Francis. “You don’t mean that, do you? Your father was desperately trying to solve the mystery of missing Queen, and the King before him, and the King before him. Even the other Kingdoms are intrigued as to why the Spade Kingdom lacks one.”

“It’s in the tour guide,” snorted Alfred, taking another sip of his wine, “the greatest mystery in the Spade Kingdom; the Missing Queen. It brings in a few tourists and some adventurers keen to solve it.”

Francis seemed a little put off by Alfred’s claim that a Queen was not needed in his Kingdom. He had never told Alfred this but the real reason the other Kingdoms were intrigued by the mystery was because they didn’t want the same thing to happen to them. They had sent their own scholars and privately investigated the matter, but to this day know one knows why the Queen of Spades has been absent for over a century.

They’ve had the usual trickster come along with the mark of the Queen imprinted upon their body, but they were proven to be fake. A true mark of royalty could only be recognised by other members of the court. Hundreds of people with the mark on their body could come but either the King or the Jack could tell if it was real or not. Soon the tricksters gave up trying.

Francis also wouldn’t admit that he was concerned about Alfred. Every member of the court had their role to play, each was a vital link in the chain that bound their Kingdom. The King, the Queen, the Jack and even the elusive Ace. One missing link and the chain was useless and the Kingdom would fall apart. Though it was odd that the Spade Kingdom was still functioning with a missing link... well, Francis wouldn’t exactly call it functioning.

“And what about you?” Francis looked straight into Alfred’s eyes. “Don’t you want to find the reason? Don’t you desire to have a Queen?”

Alfred rolled his eyes and slouched onto his couch, blowing his lips and folding his arms. “Why? We haven’t had one in a 100 years and the Kingdom of Spades has thrived!”

Francis sighed as Alfred continued to dodge the question. “I wouldn’t say it’s been... thriving,” argued Francis, “it’s more like-“

“Your highness, it’s time.”

Yao urged Alfred to get up and continue with the tight schedule, the Spade Jack keen on keeping everything in order. Alfred looked over at Francis who merely smiled and casually waved his hand. “We’ll talk later, now take care of my dear Queen.”

Alfred gave him a smile of reassurance and rose up from where he sat, calmly approaching the petit Queen. She clearly was nervous about what was to come, but she smiled sweetly and curtsied before the taller King. He bowed back and offered her his arm, trying his best to ignore the dagger like gaze coming from the Diamond Jack. He kept his pace short so he wouldn’t end up dragging her, escorting her to the hall where the ceremony was to take place.

The ceremony itself was a unique one in the Kingdom of Spades. In one secluded section of the palace was a large courtyard that held a spectacular garden. It wasn’t an ordinary garden for Kings and Queens and rich nobles of the past had traveled far and wide just to catch a glimpse of it. Books were written about it, songs were sung about it, and many foreigners paid a fortune just to see it, it was that fantastic.

The garden was old but over the years it had been tended to by professionals and specialists, all who claim that this was a garden like no other and that it was a privilege to work there. It bore flowers and plants from around the world, some were rare and some were common, each one had been cared for with sincere affection. 

But there was one thing in that garden that made the beautifully arranged flowers pale in comparison, one single thing that was considered a national treasure, and was the whole reason this ceremony took place. 

An Elder tree.

These trees were insanely rare, rarer than any precious metal or jewel and just as valuable, and men even waged war against each other just for a single leaf. Elder trees were said to be the corporeal forms of old gods from ancient times, or the homes of eternal spirits who watched over the world. It’s bark shimmered like silver, it’s leaves glowed a gentle blue light, it’s roots buried deep into the Earth, and if you listened carefully you could hear faint whispers of old voices. The gardeners avoided it out of respect and fear that they might damage it, and only those permitted by the King were allowed to go near it. There were so many stories surrounding these ancient trees but no one knew if they were true or not.

No one knew exactly how the tree came to grow in the Kingdom of Spades, but according to history a King of Spades ventured into the Forest of Eternity and returned with a single seed. Some say that it was ludicrous story as no one ever entered that forest and simply walked out. No one knew for sure but at the end of the day there was an Elder tree within the palace, and that was all anyone needed to know.

Alfred remembered the day he first saw it. At first he thought it was just a very fancy looking tree, but he could not deny he felt some strange force that the tree emitted. He was actually afraid to go near it in his youth, and although he had outgrown the initial fear he was still weary about going near it. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling but he felt... resentment.

He did remember his first Elder tree ceremony. The Queen of Hearts was the one doing the ceremony with his father. He had watched from a balcony that overlooked the garden with his mother, watching as his father guided the foreign Queen towards the tree. Once the Queen stood before the tree, the crowds watching from their own balconies and from the large entryway into the garden fell became silent.

Then the Queen of Hearts began to sing a beautiful song.

Time seemed to have stopped as the voice from the Queen seemed to cast a spell over the universe itself. The only thing that seemed to prove that existence was ongoing was the soothing voice of the Queen. A gentle breeze made the leaves rustle, as if they too were trying to join in the song, even the flowers seem to remain in bloom just to listen.

All that fear that he had felt about the tree was replaced by a sense of peace and relief, and all of the spectators seem lost in a trance as the Queen sung. He asked his mother, why do they do this? Why do they need a Queen to sing to the tree?

His mother had no answer. His father had no answer. The foreign Queens and their Kings had no answer. The purpose of this tradition had been lost to time, and yet they carried on as if it was a vital ritual to keep the kingdom alive.

And now here he was, ready to host his first Elder tree ceremony with the Queen of Diamonds.

As he stood before the crowds with his back to the garden, Yao ushered everyone to be silent so their King could address them. Once the crowds were silent and their attention was upon the King, Alfred cleared his throat and began his speech.

“Greetings everyone, glad you could all make it,” he stated with his charismatic smile plastering his face. “This is my first time hosting the Elder tree ceremony and, just like the Kings before me, I know that tonight will be an event you soon won’t forget.”

The crowds seemed impressed if not surprised at the King’s mannerism and smiled politely as he continued. “As you know, the Kingdom of Spades is the only Kingdom to have an Elder Tree flourish within it, and these trees are said to be ancient gods given form. For reasons unknown a Queen must sing to the Elder tree every year, a tradition that has been lost to time but a tradition that the Kingdom of Spades continues to uphold... and since we lack a Queen-“ Alfred phrased that last sentence in a humorous tone, which caused a small chorus of laughter erupting from the crowds. “-this year the Kingdom of Diamonds has graciously allowed us their Queen to preform the ceremony, so give it up for her.”

The crowds clapped the moment their King did and the Diamond Queen curtsied before them, desperately trying to hide her blushing face. The Diamond King appeared amused whilst the Diamond Jack appeared slightly annoyed. Yao merely rolled his eyes.

“So without further ado, lets get this show on the road,” declared Alfred, more clapping exploded throughout the chamber as the King finished.

Alfred looked over at Yao, who didn’t seem too impressed with how the speech was handled. Nevertheless he clapped along with everybody else. He had a small smile he managed to force on, and was just happy that was one less thing he had to worry about that night.

As the crowds made their way to the balconies to watch the ceremony, Alfred yet again hooked arms with the Diamond Queen and escorted her towards the tree.

“I’m a little nervous,” she confessed to him in a hushed tone, “I have been practicing but my heart won’t stop beating so fast.”

“Meh, you’ll be fine,” assured Alfred, “it’ll be over before you know it.” 

She tried her best to smile with confidence but even Alfred could hear her tiny heart thumping within her chest. He could even feel the icy stare from the Diamond Jack, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Once they stood before the tree, Alfred unhooked his arm from the small Queen and watched her as she approached it. The crowds fell silent and for a moment nothing happened, though Alfred was close enough to hear the Queen take in big breaths of air to calm her beating heart.

Then at last she sung.

It was a song from the Diamond Kingdom, as it was custom for the Queens to bring a song from their own country. Alfred wasn’t sure if it was a hymn of a lullaby, but hearing those soft notes made him feel almost at ease. Even the crowds seem to fall into a trance as the Queen sung her song.

The garden seemed to be entertained by the singing as time seemed to had stood still, albeit a few fireflies danced around the air above them. The Elder tree listened silently, it’s silver bark shimmering in the moonlight and its blue leaves shining like stars. It was odd to think so but it was almost as if the tree was relaxing to the sound of the song.

Alfred, just like the tree, listened in silence. At first he felt proud of himself for hosting the ceremony without anything going wrong, and then he felt proud for the Diamond Queen for overcoming her nerves. However as the song dragged on, Alfred felt a new feeling wash over him, and troubling thoughts crept into his mind.

He wondered what song the last Queen of Spades sung for the tree. Did a Spade Queen ever sing for the tree? He wondered what his coronation would had been like if he had a Queen by his side. He remembered peering into his father’s study, the old King desperately seeking out the mystery of the missing Queen. Although he loved and respected his father, Alfred had a little bit of resentment towards him when it came to his investigation... a resentment he still carried.

As these old thoughts weaved their way into his consciousness, he felt a peculiar buzzing sensation in his mind. For a moment he thought it was just a migraine but it gradually felt like something was crawling through his brain. He heard a faint ringing and soon it was all he could hear. He looked over at the Diamond Queen but was startled to find he could no longer hear her singing.

What was happening to him? Why could he no longer hear her, or anything for that matter? Was he sick? Was it stress? He had no idea. Soon the ringing was replaced by faint whispers, whispers he could barely make out. It sounded like a hundred people were speaking in hushed tones right into his ear, but no matter how hard he focused he could not understand them.

He squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten, trying to ignore the annoying whispers and that horrid buzzing sensation. When he reached the tenth second he snapped his eyes open.

The whispers had stopped.

The buzzing had stopped.

However there was nothing but silence.

The Diamond Queen has vanished from where she stood. He looked around him to find that the crowds were gone. He was completely and utterly alone within the garden.

“Alfred...”

Alfred flinched when he heard his name being called. He looked around, hoping to see someone, but no one was there.

“Alfred...”

“Who’s there?” he called out, “who are you?” 

“He’s waiting Alfred. We’ve all been waiting.”

Waiting? Who was waiting and for what? He felt a tinge of fear as he began to wonder if he was being tormented by spirits or ghosts, he had always feared them since he was a child.

“If this is a j-joke, knock it off!” He was trying his best but his voice was starting to squeak a little as he spoke.

“I’m tired of waiting Alfred,” came the voice again.

“What are y-you waiting for?” demanded Alfred, trying not to sound afraid.

“I’m tired of waiting.”

“For what?” repeated Alfred.

The voice went silent. Alfred looked around but he was still alone in the garden. Was this just a dream? Had he somehow fallen asleep whilst standing up? If so he wanted to hurry and wake up.

“Alfred!”

Alfred flinched when he heard his name again, only this time it came from a voice he knew.

Almost instantly he heard the sound of a thunderous applause, and looked up to see the Diamond Queen curtsying to her audience. Looking over his shoulder he found himself staring at Francis, who seemed a little concerned.

“Are you alright?” asked the Diamond King, “you spaced out a little there.”

Alfred wiped his brow and looked around once more. He was still in the garden but everyone had returned, all cheering and clapping for the Diamond Queen. It was almost as if they had never left... had they left?

“Did... did everyone disappear a second ago?” asked Alfred, trying to figure out if he had been dreaming or not. “Did you hear a spooky voice calling my name?”

“I don’t believe so, no,” replied Francis, tilting his head in confusion. “Are you feeling well?”

Alfred sighed. “Yeah... think I’m just tired or something.”

Francis patted him on the back. “Aw well, a little bit of sleep and you’ll feel as fresh as flowers on a summers day.”

The Diamond King excused himself and headed over to his Queen, kissing her on the forehead and congratulating her. Alfred watched the pair and that peculiar feeling came back. He sighed heavily and exited the garden, wanting to retire to his bed and sleep until today became yesterday.


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred yawned as he buttoned up his cotton pyjamas, his eyelids now heavy as his body craved sleep. He removed his glasses to give his face a quick wash in his en suite, the warm water helping him relax. He stared at himself in the mirror, his vision a little blurred now that he wasn’t wearing his glasses but he could still make himself out. He appeared a little worn out despite not really doing much today but as Francis had said earlier, a little sleep and he’ll be as fresh as summer flowers, or something like that.

“Did I really just dream all that?” he pondered to himself.

He couldn’t get it out of his mind. The whispers, the buzzing in his head, the vanishing guests, and that creepy voice going on and on about waiting. He wanted to say that it was nothing more than a bizarre daydream, or a weird illusion, or some strange phenomenon. Whatever that was that happened in the garden, he knew for a fact that it had happened.

“Maybe it was some weird enchantment, or it was part of the ceremony... or maybe Francis was playing a trick with me?” Each King had their own unique magic power, though it was never to be used for personal amusement. Francis had a humorous nature but even Alfred doubted he would use his own power to play a trick on him.

Well whatever it was he knew he shouldn’t bother dwelling on it any further. It wasn’t as if any harm had come to him, and no threats were made against him. 

“A good nights sleep is all I need,” he yawned as he climbed onto his oversized bed, wrapped himself in the super soft sheets, and snuggled against the mattress until he was in a comfortable position. “I’ll talk to Yao about tomorrow,” he decided, clapping his hands so that the lights would dim.

He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, letting his thoughts wander. The ceremony ended with everyone happy and content, even Yao seemed overly pleased with how everything went. Everyone focused on the Diamond Queen, praising her for her beautiful singing and even the stoic Diamond Jack smiled as he congratulated her. They all shared drinks and stories and as the night dragged on they all retired to their rooms.

Alfred recalled how Francis danced with his Queen, the pair of them smiling and laughing like there was no tomorrow. He then looked around him, finding himself incredibly small on this large bed of his, which was saying something because Alfred himself was rather tall for his age. Those feelings he hated began to resurface, and he rolled about in annoyance.

“Who needs a Queen anyway?” he told himself. “My old man and the Kings before him did just fine without one. If only he didn’t waste so much time trying to-.... argh... whatever.”

He rolled into the soft sheets and closed his eyes, hoping that he would at least dream of something pleasant. The scented pillows helped him relax and soon his consciousness began to fade.

——————————

Something was stirring him from his slumber. At first it was just a small noise but as his mind began to return to the land of the living, it was getting louder and louder. Soon he found that it was impossible to go back to sleep with that irritating sound. He snapped his eyes open and sat up, rubbing his eyes and muttering curses.

“What the hell, I can’t even get a good nights sleep,” he grumbled.

He looked up to see it was still dark and was about to clap his hands when he noticed something. He rubbed his eyes again and tried to focus them, but as he looked around his room he realised that something was off.

“This... this isn’t my room.”

Although his eyesight was still a little blurry, he could still see that he was no longer in his large bed but now he was on a smaller one. The room itself was smaller, and all of the decorations were different to the ones he had in his own room. There was a couple of large bookshelves with a desk covered with empty books. A table with a single chair and decorated with flowers in a vase. A large screen decorated with pictures of flowers of every colour. A cabinet with fine dining utensils displayed and a large and ancient looking grandfather clock that ticked away. The room had a regal feeling to it, even the bedsheets were covered in beautiful patterns.

It was all interesting to look at but the question still remained; where the hell was he? Also how did he get here?

“Please tell me that this is a practical joke,” he murmured to himself, rubbing his eyes for the twelfth time to make certain his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him.

With his mind now fully awake, or as fully awake as he thought, the odd noise that had disturbed him was still present. As he focused in on it he discovered that the sound was... crying? 

He looked around and soon noticed an archway that led to another room, a flickering light coming from the chamber beyond and also where the noise was coming from. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end as thoughts of ghosts and spirits began to flood his mind once again. Was he being haunted? Was this what this whole thing was? First the weird voices in the garden and now waking up in a different room with something emitting an eerie crying sound from another room.

“Why me?” he stammered, wanting to curl back into the bed and go back to sleep, hoping that he’d wake up back in his room.

Maybe it was a dream? A nightmare? Everything felt real, too real, for it to be a dream. Whatever it was, he wanted it to end. He tried squeezing his eyes shut and counting to ten like he did back in the garden, but after reopening his eyes he found that it didn’t work.

“Dammit,” he hissed.

He looked back at the archway and although he wanted to stay exactly where he was, something was telling him to go and find out who was crying. Maybe it was his heroic nature to help anyone in need that convinced his body to force itself off the bed.

He crept towards the archway, convincing himself over and over that it wasn’t a ghost or an angry spirit, it was just someone who was hurt or lost or something, something that wasn’t a ghost. His heart thumped hard within his chest, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white, and he was fairly certain he was sweating.

He soon found himself in another small room only this one was more of a lounge, with velvet couches, a coffee table and more bookshelves filled with books. The flickering light was coming from a modest fireplace with a roaring fire. 

It was another nice room but something had caught Alfred’s eyes that made him freeze in place. 

Someone or something was sitting right in front of the fire, completely hunched over and trembling. The crying sounds were coming from it so that solved that mystery, but who or what was it? Alfred couldn’t quite make it out as the fire made it look like a silhouette from where he was standing, so he had no choice but to step closer.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he moved closer and closer, trying his hardest not to make a sound. The closer he got the more he could make out. It was a person (thank God) who was hugging himself with his face buried in his arms, sniffling and sobbing for whatever reason. Alfred began to debate with himself whether to call out to the person or not.

It was until he was standing almost right behind them that the person suddenly sat up, his sobbing now ceased. The room was now silent with the exception of the crackling fire. Alfred froze and wasn’t sure what to do or say, he couldn’t even get his mouth to open.

The person sat completely still for a moment. Before Alfred could even try to say something, the person’s head looked over it’s shoulder, it’s eyes locking onto Alfred. Alfred stared into a pair of teary eyes that were as green as emeralds with insanely thick eyebrows right above them, it’s messy hair almost hiding them from sight. 

The expression it was making, with the light of the fire upon it’s face, was so terrifying Alfred finally let out a cry of fear and jumped back.

The person also cried out in terror, dragging their body away from Alfred and reaching for the poker by the fireplace. “Who the bloody hell are you!?” it barked, standing up and raising the poker in a defensive pose. “Don’t you dare try anything!”

Alfred had stumbled backwards and landed on his backside, now trying to drag himself away from the terrifying person moving towards him with a potential weapon. Given the masculine voice despite the scrawny build it was clearly a man, a very angry and scary man. 

“How the hell did you get in here?” demanded the armed man, waving the poker around.

“W-wait a sec!” pleaded Alfred, still uncertain if it was a ghost or not, “I seriously have no idea how I got here!”

“How did you get in here!?” snapped the man, “what do you want? I swear to God I’ll beat the living daylights out of you if you try anything!” 

“I don’t know!” wailed Alfred, absolutely scared at how vicious the man was with his words.

“I want answers and I want them right the hell now,” shouted the man, “Tell me right now how you got in here or you can kiss your face goodbye!”

The angry man marched towards Alfred with the poker raised, clearly confident that he had the upper hand. His eyes were full of determination that was trying to mask his own fear, and the way he scowled at Alfred would make babies cry. 

“Did he send you? Were you sent to terrorise me? Is this all part of some sick joke?”

Nothing the scary man said made sense. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“LIES!”

Alfred was still hopelessly confused and terrified of this potential ghost. He tried pushing himself away with his feet, raising his arms in self defence. “Please WAIT!” he shouted, squeezing his eyes shut.

He fell over backwards and before he even realised it, he opened his eyes and found that he had fallen back onto his own bed. He was no longer in that dark fire lit room with the scary stranger, he was back in his large royal suite, the sunlight pouring in through the window.

He sat up and looked around, making sure that this was 100% his room and he was on his bed. His heart was still thumping and he was drenched in sweat. It took a few minutes before his mind had finally accepted where he was and came to the conclusion that it must’ve been a dream.

“What a weird dream,” he sighed, flopping back into his bed, wondering why did he dream about a scary man crying in front of a fireplace.

——————————

Alfred tried his best not blush as Francis laughed after hearing about his bizarre dream but now that he thought about, who wouldn’t laugh at such a tale. He focused on munching on his pancakes that he drenched in syrup whilst the Diamond King was trying to stop his laughter, slapping his hand against the table.

“Oh Alfred, you can be so adorable,” teased Francis, grabbing his glass of orange juice.

“Don’t be mean to him,” pleaded Erika, the young Diamond Queen sipping away at her tea. “You would be terrified if a... um... excuse me, your highness, but what was it that attacked you in your dream?”

Alfred huffed and repeated what he had told them earlier. “A scary man with caterpillar eyebrows, hair that looked like the fur of a drowned cat, and a face that would make babies cry.”

The Diamond Queen tried to stifle a snort, the whole thing sounded far too amusing than it did terrifying. Francis snorted himself and forced himself to drink his juice. Alfred just stuffed his face full of his pancakes and down his coffee.

“Why did I bother telling you,” he pouted, finishing his breakfast. “I should’ve known you’d tease me.”

“Qui, but you make it so easy,” replied Francis, pulling out a napkin to wipe his lips.

“Well what would you do if someone like that came at you with a poker?” snapped Alfred.

Before Francis could reply, Erika answered for him. “He’d scream like a child and jump out the nearest window.”

“I would not!” argued Francis, “my Queen, how can you say such things about me, your King.”

Erika giggled as she placed her tea cup down. “You make it far too easy,” she teased.

“I make it easy? You’d run and hide behind poor Basch and cry until your tears flood the Kingdom,” countered Francis with a triumphant grin. 

“Well at least he’d be able to put up a fight,” giggled Erika, showing no mercy to her King.

Alfred watched as the pair of them bantered among themselves, not realising he was staring at them with envious eyes. The worst part was when the pair of them noticed, they immediately stopped and went back to finishing their breakfast.

After the three members of royalty finished their morning meal, they excused themselves and whilst the Diamond Queen went to spend some time with Diamond Jack, Alfred and Francis went through a walk through one of the many courtyards, one with a beautiful fountain in the centre.

“Ah, I won’t see you for another month I’m afraid, my friend,” sighed Francis as he plucked a rose from a shrubbery they passed, inhaling its sweet scent, “the annual Dinner between the four kingdoms, that you’ll be hosting this year.”

“Oh I’m looking forward to it,” chuckled Alfred with a hint of sarcasm, “Yao is going to be relentless with me to make certain it turns out alright.”

“It’s easy,” chuckled Francis, “we sit down and eat. Making it anymore simple would be a challenge. Well if I have one worry, it’s your Kingdom’s idea of food.”

Alfred seemed confused. “What’s wrong with our food?”

“Oh I don’t know, cheeseburgers and deep fried chicken isn’t what I call a meal fit for a King,” muttered Francis, the very idea of him eating anything like that made him crave a carefully prepared pastry.

“Relax, Yao has arranged to have a chef come in from his native city to the east,” assured Alfred with a grin, “I heard the food they have there is just as good as yours.”

Francis scoffed at the idea that someone from another Kingdom could prepare food better than his own, but was relieved that he wasn’t going to eat anything dripping with grease. Alfred knew how to host, he had a talent for that, but his idea in fancy cuisine was limited to overly sweet deserts and fatty burgers.

As they walked by the fountain, Francis ran his fingers across the surface of the water. “Alfred, do you remember what we were talking about last night? About your supposedly thriving Kingdom?”

“Yeah,” answered Alfred, thinking back to last night before the ceremony, “what about it?”

“Well as I said, I don’t believe your Kingdom is thriving,” explained Francis, “it’s almost as if it’s... standing still.”

“Standing... still?” Alfred was confused. “Kingdoms don’t move last time I checked.”

Francis chuckled and shook his head. “Hmmm, how should I explain this?” He stroked his beard and stared down at the water in the fountain. “Imagine all four Kingdoms are ships. The citizens are the passengers, the King is the Captain, the Queen the Navigator and the Jack the Quartermaster. In order to progress, make discoveries and explore the seas, the ship must sail and everyone on board must play their part. You with me so far?”

Alfred nodded, understanding what Francis was talking about but was still unsure what it was all about.

Francis continued. “Well your ship is still in harbour. Mine, Ivan’s and Ludwig’s ships are currently out there sailing across oceans and seas. We go through storms, make fascinating discoveries and broaden our horizon. However your ship just stays in harbour and is unable to experience what the other ships are going through. You’re just... standing still.”

Listening to Francis’ explanation made Alfred think for a moment. Was this how the other Kingdoms saw his? Whilst they were continuing to advance and grow, his own Kingdom was just stuck in one place? The Kingdom of Spades was still a mighty Kingdom that put the others to shame with its power, but were they no longer impressed by it just because they were missing a member in their court?

“I’m not trying to insult you, mon ami,” insisted Francis, placing his hand upon Alfred’s shoulder, “but you have to understand, not having a Queen isn’t something you should be proud of. I don’t know why your Kingdom lacks one but I do know your father and all the Kings before him were trying to find the reason.”

Alfred felt that tinge of resentment come back, but he pushed that feeling aside and forced on a smile of assurance. “I hear what you say, but you don’t need to worry. We may be a stationary ship to you, but we’re still a functioning ship and we can still sail without a Navigator.”

Francis seemed to smile sadly. “Qui, but a ship without a Navigator can’t go anywhere without getting lost, can it?”

Alfred had no response to that.

The morning dragged on until it was at last time for the Diamond King, Queen and Jack to return to their kingdom. Queen Erika thanked Alfred for allowing her to perform the ceremony, the Diamond Jack didn’t glare at him so much, and Francis kissed Alfred on both cheeks before bidding him farewell.

Alfred climbed a watchtower and watched them as they exited his Kingdom upon their beautifully decorated carriage, heading back to their wealthy Kingdom to the south. His people waved to them as they left, cheering them on as they headed home. Then they went back to what they did in their daily lives. Alfred sighed as Francis’ words echoed in his mind.

_“A ship without a Navigator can’t go anywhere without getting lost, can it?”_

Although he had told himself and others over and over that the Spade Kingdom didn’t need a Queen, he could not deny that deep down he wished he had one. He was tired of sitting next to an empty throne, tired of sitting with the other Kings as they sat with their Queens, and above all else he was tired of everyone showering him with pity because he lacked a Queen. These thoughts and feelings of his made his resentment towards a Spade Queen grow, until he both desired one and didn’t want one at all.

With his mind full of confusing thoughts, he decided to hide out in his room and try to relax for the day, hoping that he could go through one more day without being reminded of what his Kingdom lacked.


	3. Chapter 3

Alfred should’ve know that Yao would find something for him to do. He sat before his desk and stared at the mountains of paperwork that needed to be completed before days end. It was all basic stuff but it was so trivial and tiresome. Some of it didn’t even needed to be completed for months but Yao wanted it done now before the King forgot about it.

Worst of all, whilst he was trying to fill in the paperwork, Yao had a dull sounding planner come in, pitching his ideas for the Four Kingdoms dinner party next month. He droned on about the colour of the tablecloth matching which table wear, and wether if it should have bird or venison with certain vegetables.

“The King of Hearts is fond of venison, but the Queen of Diamonds prefers pheasant over venison depending on how it’s cooked, however the Queen of Hearts has recently acquired a golden pheasant as a gift from the King of Clubs, who dislikes fish but likes the taste of rabbit. However the King of Diamonds is quite fussy when it comes to how he likes his rabbit cooked and-“

Alfred rolled his eyes as his hands were going numb from signing his name over and over, as well as his ears.

“Just let the chef cook whatever his specialty is,” ordered Alfred in an uniterested voice.

“Yes, but he still needs to decide what meat to use,” answered the planner, “I was told he’d use duck but the Queen of Clubs despises duck due to the grease, however the King of Hearts can tolerate as long as it’s prepared properly and as long as it’s not too tough for the Diamond Queen has sensitive teeth-...”

Alfred groaned as he continued to sign documents about policies and complaints whilst listening to the most boring man in existence, who was talking about the damn seating plan.

“The dinner will take place in the White Rose suite on a traditional four sided table which seats two on all sides. It is recommended that we keep the Kingdom of Hearts opposite the Kingdom of Diamond, or if you prefer we can have the Kingdom of Diamonds sit opposite you and have the Kingdom of Clubs sit opposite the Kingdom of Hearts but doing so will have you sit quite close to the King of Clubs and-“

Alfred released a loud sigh of annoyance. “Just do what you said first,” he huffed, gritting his teeth as Yao dumped another pile of paperwork onto the already cluttered desk.

“Also, your majesty, would you prefer to have the traditional empty chair next to you or shall we remove it?”

Alfred almost snapped his pen at the mention of the empty chair he had to sit next to. With or without it, he was still going to be the only one at that table without a Queen. Seriously, could he not go through one damn day without being reminded of what his Kingdom lacked?

“Keep it,” he huffed, not really giving a damn anymore.

“Excellent, now about the floral arrangement, would you prefer roses or lilies, though I should point out the King of Hearts is sensitive around pollen, but the Queen of Hearts loves flowers so I was thinking if we could have some fake flowers, yet we might risk upsetting the King of Clubs as he adores flowers-...”

Alfred wanted to die.

The clocked ticked and tocked, syncing with the planner’s dull voice as he talked about which direction the table should face, if they should import the wine or use their own, if they would provide the music or request the Kingdom of Clubs to lend them their talented Jack. The paperwork piled up and no matter how many he signed, the stack of forms didn’t seem to shrink.

Time passed and Alfred stared up at the clock, wanting to cry when he saw that it was no where near lunch time. He leaned back in his chair, his grip on his pen now weak and the way he wrote his signature now looked barely recognisable. The planner continued to drone on but now Alfred wasn’t even certain what he was talking about. His head bobbed up and down as he was both fighting to stay awake and desperate to fall asleep.

Soon all he could hear was the sound of the clock and the unbearable voice of the planner. His eyelids were getting harder to keep open. “I’ll just rest my eyes for a sec,” he told himself, closing them.

Soon he could no longer hear the sound of the clock or the dull tone of that boring planner, those boring sounds replaced with wonderful silence... and yet there was another sound. Although he was trying to escape into blissful silence, he was now trying to focus on this new sound. What was it? It almost sounded like....

“Rain?”

Alfred opened his eyes.

He wasn’t sitting at his desk, there was no pile of paperwork or a boring old man talking about a dinner party. He was sitting upon a cream coloured victorian couch with another matching one in front of him and a coffee table in between them. There were bookcases all around him and a modest looking fireplace with a antique clock sat upon the mantle. A window upon a bare section of a wall was being splattered with rain from the outside, the sky a light grey.

He looked around, confused at what was happening. How did he get here? Where was here? Why did this room look very familiar?

Before he could even consider getting up to explore, he heard footsteps approaching and he froze. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he glanced up to see someone was walking over to where he sat. 

The person didn’t even notice Alfred as his face was buried in an open book he held with one hand and in the other hand he held a fancy looking cup containing a steaming hot beverage. Without even looking up, the person walked across the room and sat upon the couch opposite Alfred, completely unaware of the man in front of him.

Alfred stared at him, at first wondering if he should ask him the questions he had been asking himself, but as he stared at the stranger he realised that he looked very familiar.

That messy hair, those emerald eyes, the insanely thick eyebrows... there was no doubt in Alfred’s mind that this was the same scary man that tried to attack him with a poker the night before. In fact this was the same room, he just didn’t recognise it now that there was daylight illuminating it.

Alfred then felt a little afraid, wondering if and when the scary man finally noticed him, would he attack him again? He wanted answers more than anything but the memory of their last encounter was still fresh in his mind.

Unfortunately for Alfred he was going to have to face these fears sooner than he thought, for the man finally pulled the book away from his face and brought the cup he held up to his lips. As he carefully sipped the hot beverage those green eyes of his looked up and met with Alfred’s blue ones.

Almost immediately he spat out his drink, dropped his book and the cup he had been holding, and ended up dragging himself upwards and backwards until he ended up falling behind the couch he had been sitting on. The loud thud of his body hitting the floor made Alfred flinch.

“You! How did... what are you doing here!?” The man peeped over the couch, glaring viciously at Alfred.

Alfred raised his hands to try and explain, but before he could say anything the man grabbed some of the books off the bookshelf behind him and started throwing them at him. Not wanting to get hit by one of those heavy books, Alfred ended up jumping behind the couch he had woken up on.

“Wait! Wait a sec!” he pleaded, placing his arms over his head as books starting raining down upon him. “I’m seriously lost right now!”

“Are you a thief!? A trickster!? Answer me damn you!” The scary man was relentless as he threw book after book, determined to hit the intruder.

“Neither!” yelled Alfred, “I just somehow got here!”

“If you’re going to lie at least come up with something more creative, you twat,” shouted the man, grabbing some heavy looking encyclopaedias and throwing them over with all his might.

“I’m not lying,” shouted Alfred, “I seriously have no idea what the hell is going on or how the hell I got here, so can you please stop throwing your library at me!”

The onslaught of flying books seemed to have stopped and Alfred relaxed a little but kept his guard up. He slowly peeped over the couch to see the scary man had moved from the bookshelves and was now standing right in front of where he was hiding, holding a very heavy book the same way he held the poker.

“Who are you?” demanded the man, walking round the couch until he was standing over Alfred. “Answer me right now or else!”

Alfred raised his arms up to show he wasn’t going try anything and slowly stood up. “Look, I get you’re really angry but I seriously have no idea how I got here.”

It was the only explanation he had but it didn’t seem to convince the man. “Do you honestly think I’m that stupid,” he spat, advancing towards Alfred. “People don’t just suddenly pop out of thin air.”

“Well I did,” argued Alfred, his back now up against a wall. “I know it sounds really out of nowhere but I was just sitting at my desk listening to some boring guy talk about fake flowers and signing stupid documents, and then I found myself here!”

The man almost lowered his weaponised book and stared at Alfred with a bewildered expression. He then scowled and raised the book again. “What kind of poor excuse is that!?” he shouted, stepping closer.

“It’s all I got,” confessed Alfred, flinching as the man raised the book. He squeezed his eyes shut and raised his arms to defend himself, hoping that just like last time he’ll wake up back in the palace.

For a moment he thought it worked as he never felt the book strike him, yet he could still hear the sound of the rain hitting the window. He opened his eyes and found that he was still in the room with scary man in front of him, but now he appeared confused.

“What the hell?” The man raised his book again and swung it at Alfred. 

Alfred flinched, mentally preparing himself for the pain that was to follow, but instead of the book hitting him... it phased right through him.

The two men looked at each then back down at the book, then looked at each other again and once more at the book. Alfred could feel his heart thumping as the man reached cautiously towards him. He was expecting, and kind of hoping, to feel the man’s hand touch him but instead it phased through him, just like the book.

The man jerked his hand away and once again said, “what the hell?”

Alfred, however, had a very different reaction. “I knew it,” he shrieked, moving away from the man and backing up against a bookshelf. “You’re a ghost!”

“M-me!? If anyone’s the ghost here it’s you,” snapped the man.

“Your hand passed right through me,” argued Alfred, his face now turning white, “you’re so obviously a ghost! This all makes sense now! Someone so scary looking like you is so obviously a ghost! Stay away from me!”

The man now appeared unimpressed with the accusation thrown at him. “If I’m the ghost then how come this book I happen to be holding right now also passed through you?”

Alfred was silent as he tried to think of an excuse. “A ghost... book?” That actually sounded stupid when he said it out loud. His answer actually made the man snort in amusement. 

“Well last time I checked I’m very much alive and books are unable to turn into ghosts since they’re technically not alive. You’re the one who suddenly appears in my room uninvited and you’re unable to touch anything in here, therefore you are the ghost.” The man folded his arms and appeared smug with his conclusion. “What do you have to say for yourself now?”

Alfred tried to make sense of all this. A book can’t be a ghost, but why else would it phase through him? The last time he was here was when he was fast asleep and this time he ended up here whilst wishing for death... oh god, was he actually the ghost!?

“It can’t be,” wailed Alfred, the idea of being dead understandably horrified him. “I can’t be dead, I just can’t! I barely lived!” He started pacing back and forth in a panic. “I knew it, I knew I was going to kick the bucket from absolute boredom at some point, but I didn’t think it was going to happen so soon!”

“Would you calm down please,” ordered the man, folding his arms.

Alfred ignored him and continued to vent his woes. “I never thought you could die from boredom but I guess I’m the first! Why the hell did this happen to me? I’ve been good, haven’t I? Oh why meeee?”

As Alfred panicked and walked around the room on the verge of tears, the man seemed to show some concern for him. “You... might not be a ghost?” he suggested.

That made Alfred pause and look up. “I’m not?” he asked hopefully.

The man placed the book down and walked over to Alfred. He stared straight into his face for a moment, causing Alfred to lean back, and then began to circle around him, studying his body with careful eyes.

“You’re far too lively to be a ghost,” explained the man, “though it still doesn’t explain why I can’t touch you.”

As the man continued to examine him, it allowed Alfred to get a proper look at him now that he wasn’t trying to hide from him. His skin was very pale, as if he had never walked under the sun in his whole life and he was shorter than him and his body was rather scrawny compared to his own, making Alfred feel embarrassed that he had been terrified of him before. He no longer looked terrifying now that he wasn’t scowling, though Alfred still thought he looked a little intimidating because of those eyebrows of his. He actually looked calm and composed with his current expression.

He wondered if the man was a noble or something after only just realising that he had a interestingly posh accent, and the way he dressed was pretty fancy too. He wore a long sleeved white cotton shirt with a light grey loose bow tie around the collar. On top of that he wore an embroidered green waistcoat with gold patterns, pressed black trousers and a pair of well polished shoes. If it wasn’t for the fact he had messy hair, Alfred would’ve assumed he was indeed an upper class noble. Or maybe he liked the way his hair looked?

Alfred flinched again when the man tried poking him, but his finger just seem to dissolve into Alfred’s body. “Cut it out,” whined Alfred, trying to swat the man away. “It’s really weird when you do that!”

“Do you feel anything?” asked the man.

“No,” answered Alfred, “but it’s still weird.”

“Hmmmm.” The man circled him again and stopped right in front of him. “You can’t be a ghost, and you’re definitely not a spirit. Still... it doesn’t explain why you have no physical presence though I can still see and hear you.”

“Are you an expert or something?” asked Alfred, secretly hoping it was because it would make him feel better.

That made the man look smug again. “I’m actually quite well versed in my knowledge of the supernatural and magic... though I’ll admit I’m not quite sure what you are.” He stepped back and looked him over yet again. “How exactly did you get here?”

Alfred shrugged. “I don’t know! In fact how do I know you didn’t summon me here!” Alfred assumed that since he knew about supernatural things and magic, he might be a wizard or something.

“Me?” That accusation seemed to have make the man blush for some reason. “Why would I ever summon some big idiot like you?”

“I’m not an idiot,” declared Alfred, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. “I’m Alfred F. Jones the King of Spades, so show me some respect.”

There was a long moment of silence after Alfred announced who his title to the man. The man blinked a few times, as if he was trying to process what he had just been told, before he rolled his eyes and folded his arms. “Oh really?”

Alfred nodded to confirm it, beaming with pride.

The man smirked a little. “Well, your majesty, if it pleases you my name is Arthur Kirkland.” The man bowed politely and stood back up. “Now if you don’t mind I have to clean up this mess you made.”

“But... you were the one throwing the books,” pointed out Alfred, not noticing that this man didn’t seem interested in who he was.

“Oh shut up, idiot,” muttered the man as he turned his back on Alfred and started to pick up the fallen books. He looked over his shoulder to see Alfred still standing there. “Could you... vanish or go away please?”

Alfred wanted nothing more than to get out of here but he didn’t know how, and it was clear that this Arthur person didn’t want him here. Instead of standing around he decided to have a look around. The room he was in was clearly the lounge was and was shaped like a hexagon. Opposite the fire place was a large set of doors that probably lead out the room and on either side of the door were archways that lead to other rooms.

He peered through the one on the left, seeing a bed and instantly recognised as the room he had woken up in the night before. He walked in to have a closer look.

“Don’t touch anything!”

Alfred rolled his eyes and huffed. “Can’t touch anything, remember?” He heard Arthur muttering before he shouted, “idiot!” Alfred wasn’t sure if he was shouting at him or himself.

Anyway Alfred looked round the room. The table had a tray upon now with an empty plate and the cutlery neatly placed upon it, along with a dirty napkin. There was also a teapot with jug of milk and a sugar bowl upon the same tray. Alfred guessed that Arthur just had lunch or something before he appeared.

Upon the desk was an open book and judging by the jar of ink and the pen next to it, Arthur must be currently writing a book. Alfred starting to wonder if he was writing spells or curses, and excitedly looked down at the open page. To his disappointment it was just something about flowers, with a few sketches illustrated.

In a huff he looked round and saw nothing else that interested in. He returned to the lounge to see Arthur was still cleaning up the mess, so Alfred decided to peek through the other archway. It was just a modest looking bathroom, much to Alfred’s disappointment. He didn’t know what he was hoping for, but he did kind of hoped to see a cauldron or a magic circle etched on the floor.

He didn’t know why but imagining this Arthur fellow as a warlock or something made sense to him. He was a little creepy like warlocks were supposed to be, and he already admitted to knowing a few things about magic and supernatural things. Maybe he did summon him here by accident and was to going to admit it.

Alfred returned to the lounge to find Arthur sitting down and reading the book he had earlier. It appeared he had finished cleaning up the mess and was now only interested in reading the book than he was about his strange guest. Alfred was beginning to think that despite how he had dropped in suddenly, this Arthur was a terrible host.

Arthur did glance up and sigh when noticed that his guest was still present. “Are you still here?” he sighed.

“Clearly,” huffed Alfred.

Arthur made a “tut” sound and returned his attention to the book. Alfred looked round for something to do. He peered out the window but the rain was so thick he couldn’t see anything. He tried closing his eyes and counting to ten, hoping that when he reopened them he’d be back in his office. He tried it four times before he gave up.

With a huff he sat down on the couch, not realising he was sitting on the same one as Arthur. He looked over at him to see he was desperately trying to focus his attention on the book. Alfred raised his hand and tried poking Arthur, but his finger just went straight through his cheek. He did it again and again, snickering at how bizarre it was.

Arthur, however, was done pretending to ignore him. “Just because I can’t feel it doesn’t mean I don’t find it annoying,” he snapped.

“But I’m boooored,” whined Alfred.

“Then go and haunt someone else,” suggested Arthur.

“I thought you said I wasn’t a ghost,” gasped Alfred, believing for a second that Arthur had deceived him.

“I was only... oh just leave me in peace!” Arthur brought the whole book up to hide his face and moved away from Alfred.

Alfred looked at the book and noticed it was a classic fairytale collection. His mother used to read him that book and he knew most of the stories off by heart. “Hey, read to me,” he demanded.

That made Arthur look up. “I beg your pardon?”

“Read to me,” repeated Alfred, pulling a puppy dog face.

“Why should I?” sneered Arthur, scooting away from his guest.

“Because I’m bored,” answered Alfred, with a smile.

“You’re such a child,” sighed Arthur.

“Pleeeease.” Alfred scooted over. “I’m trapped here, the least you can do is entertain me.”

Arthur seemed a little intrigued to read to him but he was holding back. “I... suppose one story wouldn’t hurt,” he mumbled in defeat.

Alfred made a “yay” noise and leaned back to get comfortable. Arthur flicked through the pages to find a good place to start but before he could open his mouth, something jerked Alfred forward.

“Alfred! Wake up!”

Alfred yelped and looked up to find himself staring in Yao’s angry golden eyes. With a gasp he pulled himself back and looked around. He was back in his office with his desk still piled with paperwork and the boring planner still talking. He looked to his left, expecting to see Arthur sitting next to him with the book, but Alfred was sitting on an armchair not a couch and there was nobody there.

“You don’t have time to take a nap,” huffed Yao, placing yet another pile of paperwork onto the desk. “This needs to be done before tomorrow, and I need the planner here content with your choices!”

Looking at the clock above him, Alfred found that it was still a while before lunch. Strange, he was certain that he had been in that weird place with that odd man for over an hour.

“Did I... go anywhere?” asked Alfred to Yao, trying to make sense of what was going on.

“I should hope you didn’t,” huffed Yao, “you literally closed your eyes a second ago, and I can’t afford you taking naps in the middle of work.”

A second!? He had closed his eyes for a second before Yao grabbed him? How could that be? It felt like a whole hour had passed, in fact he was feeling hungry.

Was that whole thing with Arthur a dream? It felt like a dream what with his body having no physical presence and a book throwing madman with eyebrows like caterpillars. Still it almost felt real, like he was actually there. He remembered the sound of the rain hitting the window and even the pictures of flowers in that notebook upon the desk. The memory of that place was still fresh in his mind.

He rubbed his brow and Yao showed a rare look of concern, after all he had been working Alfred to the bone to keep the Kingdom running like clockwork. “Do you need a five minute break?”

Truthfully he wanted a two hour break but with Yao, that was like asking him to relax and smile.

“I think I need some air,” he admitted and stood up to find a place to be alone.

“Five minutes,” reminded Yao as he left.

“Yeah, yeah,” mumbled Alfred, rubbing his brow and sighing. He was sure what that whole thing was, but he was certain that it wasn’t a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

When he went to bed that night Alfred was actually scared that he’d end up back in that other place with that scary Arthur fellow, however he slept like a baby and nothing happened. He woke up feeling refreshed and had a delicious breakfast, pancakes with bacon and whipped cream, drenched in syrup. He downed it all with a glass of orange juice and even had room to stuff down a bagel.

With his belly full Alfred could not help but smile with glee. The sun was shining and Yao thankfully had nothing major for him to do, so he believed he could relax today. He actually had time to catch up on reading his favourite comics, he spent a decent amount of time in his personal gym, went for a casual stroll around a section of his Kingdom and came back in time for lunch.

So far this day was going fantastic and Alfred could only hope that this afternoon would be the same. 

It almost did until Yao had to pull him away from some light work to deal with a little crisis. When one hears the word crisis you’d think that something life threatening would be taking place, but this supposed crisis was something Alfred would never call a crisis.

Apparently the floral arrangements for the dinner party were splitting the stewards apart, half of them wanted the traditional peony bouquet whilst the other half wanted lilies. 

“Peony flowers are too common nowadays, the lilies will at least make the table look presentable!”

“The only lilies we can import are white ones, and how can you put white lilies on a table with a white tablecloth?”

“Then we can change the tablecloth to the red one!”

“You can’t use a red tablecloth at this particular dinner party! Red would be an insult to our guests!”

“Then use the fake lilies we have in store.”

“And risk offending the King of Clubs?”

“Well we can’t use peonies, they’ll keep the King of Hearts sneezing all night!”

“And we’re not using lilies!”

“And we’re not using peonies!”

Alfred could not believe he had to deal with an argument about what flowers should be on display on a dinner table. They were just decorative plants to make the table look pretty, who cared what type they were? He looked over at Yao who stared at him with a look of sympathy.

“I thought the planner already dealt with this,” hissed Alfred, grinding his teeth until they squeaked.

“He did but it turns out the orchids we decided on didn’t bloom too well this year, so he went with plan B,” sighed Yao, “and unfortunately this lot don’t agree with plan B.” Yao rubbed his head as the whole thing was giving him an headache. “I tried dealing with it but they want your input, just pick a flower and tell them to go with it.”

Alfred rolled his eyes and decided to just do what Yao said and get it over with. He approached the bickering stewards and cleared his throat. “I appreciate your concerns but we need to choose a flower and focus on other important matters. So...” Alfred decided to randomly choose one of the flowers, “we’ll go with the peonies.”

He hoped that was the end of it, but the other stewards pointed out an important fact. “The King of Hearts is sensitive to the pollen, your majesty, and peonies produce a lot of pollen.”

Alfred sighed. “Ok, lilies then.”

“We can only get white ones in, they’re far too plain for the table lay up we prepared and changing the table layout is not an option.”

Seriously? Alfred rubbed his fingers against his brow. “Ok then, how about tulips?”

“They’re too common and won’t suit the theme.”

“Sunflowers? I heard the King of Clubs likes those,” suggested Alfred, trying to grin.

“They’re far too big and would look ridiculous on a dinner table.”

“Carnations?”

“Too childish.”

“Daises then,” snarled Alfred.

“...was that a joke, your majesty?”

Alfred held in the urge to scream and the stewards began to bicker among themselves again. In all his time as a King, Alfred could not believe that he couldn’t settle a debate about what flowers should be presented on a dinner table.

“Oh for the love of...” Alfred turned round. “Hey Yao help me out... here?”

Yao was no longer standing behind him. In fact he was no longer in the dining hall, he was in a small room... a very familiar small room. He spun round again to find the stewards were gone along with the rest of the dining hall.

“Oh no... not again,” stammered Alfred as he spun around.

He was back in that strange place, in the bedroom part of it. The same table with the flower vase, the same desk with the books, the same screen with the flowers decorating it, and the same stupid bed. How? How did he come back? He thought he had to fall asleep in order to come here, but all he did was literally spin around and BAM, here he was again.

Before he could even think of the reason why he had ended up here once again, someone suddenly walked out from behind the screen and upon noticing Alfred, they yelled and jumped back.

“You have a nasty habit of showing up when you’re not wanted!”

Alfred wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Arthur again either, that scowl of his would probably scare Yao and send him crying to his mother. “It’s not my fault,” huffed Alfred, folding his arms. “I’m not exactly here by choice.”

Arthur straightened himself out and continued staring daggers at Alfred. “You’re also ridiculously rude,” he huffed, “I was going to read you the classic version of Sleeping Beauty and you just up and vanish!”

“I can’t exactly control this, in fact I’m not sure it’s even me,” argued Alfred, still stressed about the whole flower debate, “I don’t even know why I’m here, I was literally in the middle of a stupid argument and now I’m back here against my will!”

“Oh boo hoo,” scoffed Arthur as he walked away from his unwanted guest, “You think you’ve got problems, try walking in my shoes for a day, you idiot.”

Hearing the way Arthur spoke to him caused Alfred’s stress levels to rise. “Like you can understand what I have to deal with everyday. You’re all alone here, it’s not like you have to deal with a bunch of people wanting your approval over trivial things!”

Arthur seem to tense up a little after hearing that, but he relaxed again and continued to walk away. “I don’t have time to deal with a whiny brat,” he spat, “I actually have some decent weather today, so if you’ll excuse me.” He then stormed off into the lounge room and walked through the double doors, slamming them behind him.

Finding himself alone, Alfred grumbled and folded his arms. He wasn’t a brat, and he wasn’t whiny. Arthur just didn’t know what his life was like running a Kingdom. He had to sign mountains of paperwork, listening to boring old men talk about boring things and try to break up arguments with his staff over stupid flowers! He wanted to punch something so bad but he knew he couldn’t, and even if he could it wouldn’t be polite to damage something that wasn’t his.

Alfred looked around, realising he didn’t like the idea of being in this room alone. Arthur still pissed him off with his seemingly holier-than-thou attitude, but then again if Alfred was in his place he wouldn’t like a stranger appearing out of thin air in his home. Still he didn’t have to talk down at him so much, just who the hell did he think he was?

Hating being in this room by himself, Alfred decided to follow Arthur and hoped he’d at least keep him company until he returned to the palace. He was willing to put up with his cruel words if it meant he didn’t have to be alone. Entering the lounge he walked over to the door Arthur went through and tried to grab the door handle, but to his frustration his hand just phased through it. 

“Hmmm... I wonder?” Alfred didn’t believe he had turned into a ghost but maybe he could walk through the door like one? He couldn’t touch anything physical in this place, maybe that included doors? Without even giving it a second thought Alfred stepped forward and, much to his surprise, passed through the door. “Cool,” he said.

He found himself in a stone passageway with a spiral staircase right before him. He walked down them, hoping Arthur didn’t go too far and when he reached the bottom he found another set of doors. Seeing that Arthur must’ve gone through them, Alfred walked through them just as he had done with the previous door and as soon as he did he was greeted by a blinding light.

“Shit,” he cursed, squeezing his eyes shut and raising his arms.

What the hell did he walk into, a room full of lamps or something? He already had a headache from that stupid argument from before, he didn’t need it to get any worse than it already was. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. Once he was certain he could look up without getting blinded, he lowered his arms and peered up.

“What the...?”

Alfred wasn’t sure he could put into words with what he saw. He was in what looked appeared to be a garden, with all sorts of flowers and plants growing in perfectly placed positions and grass as green as it could ever be. All sorts of colourful flowers were blooming and some of the plants had leaves in very strange but intriguing shapes. There were some he had never seen before, others he had seen but had blossomed in a way he thought was impossible.

Here and there were some sticks or poles forced into the dirt to aid in a plants growth, and other plants had some netting placed around them to protect them from pests. There were also a little sticks with pieces of paper attached to them, with words describing the plants name and how to care for them. Some small birds were singing and flapping about as they flocked around a birdbath close by, taking turns to wash their little bodies in the cool water. It actually looked a little bit like a paradise... almost like a paradise.

Now it wasn’t the garden itself that surprised Alfred, it was where the garden was. 

Surrounding the entire garden was a very high stone wall, not too high but if Alfred were to attempt to scale it, it might risk falling and breaking his neck. It boxed in the whole garden and if it wasn’t for the blue sky above him, Alfred would’ve assumed he was in a very well lit room. It was the last place anyone would expect to have a garden, either a larger open space or... well, anywhere but there. 

There were windows upon the wall but they were too high up for Alfred to peer through, and there were other doors here and there, but they all appeared to be locked. Alfred looked up behind him to see the windows to Arthur’s room and then back down at the door he passed through. What a strange place to live in.

He wondered where he should start looking when some faint sound caught his attention. He walked around some of the large shrubbery, taking care where he walked even though he still couldn’t touch anything, and tried to hone in on the sound. The closer he got the more clearer it became and he soon realised what it was.

“Singing?”

He peered around a large rose bush and spotted Arthur on his knees, pulling weeds up from the soil and quietly singing to himself. Alfred crept closer and was rather surprised at how gentle Arthur’s voice was as he sung. He wasn’t sure if it was a lullaby or a hymn but the way he sang it could easily lull anyone to sleep. Even some of the birds were perched nearby so they could listen in, none of them uttering a single tweet.

Alfred found that he was almost enchanted by it. It seemed to relax his tense muscles and the headache he had was slowly starting to vanish. Maybe it was a magic song or something, or maybe the song itself was a spell. Whatever it was Alfred found that he could stand there forever if it meant he could listen to it.

Unfortunately Arthur stopped singing when he noticed Alfred’s presence, and he glared up at him. “Why are you still here?” The birds around him suddenly took off, some of them even flying right through Alfred’s body.

Alfred rubbed a finger upon his temple as he tried to find the right words. “That was a pretty song,” he confessed.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something cruel to Alfred but seem to only just realise that he was being complimented. “Thank you,” he barely murmured, and returned to his work.

“So you know stuff about magic and ghosts, you’re a gardener and a talented singer.” Alfred smirked when noticed Arthur’s ears were burning red. “Is there anything else you’re good at.”

Still blushing like a school girl, Arthur sheepishly glanced over his shoulder. “I happen to be good at embroidery and writing,” he admitted.

“My word, aren’t you the talented one,” chuckled Alfred, now picking up that whenever he praised Arthur he’d get all embarrassed. Interesting to know for now.

“I, um, have to t-tend to my garden, if you don’t mind,” stuttered Arthur, seemingly trying to find weeds in the place he had already plucked them from. 

Alfred sunk his hands into his jacket pocket. “It’s a nice garden by the way, though I have to say the location isn’t exactly where I’d grow one.”

Arthur sighed upon hearing that. “Well, what can you do?” He shuffled himself over to another patch of dirt and continued pulling weeds. “This place was just a big grassy patch of nothing when I came here, so I decided to bring some life to it.”

“Wait, so you made all of this? By yourself?” That was really impressive by Alfred’s standards.

“I had a lot of time to put into it,” replied Arthur. “I studied the care of each and every plant, I make certain that they get the correct amount of water and enough fertiliser, and I even use mirrors to reflect the light of the sun so it gets to the ones usually trapped in the shade.”

“Wow,” said Alfred with a whistle, “you’re really dedicated to this place.”

“Of course I am,” snorted Arthur, starting to sound full of himself, “it’s my responsibility to make certain this garden grows and flourishes, to give it all the love and attention it deserves.”

Arthur began to ramble on and on about the proper maintaining of a garden like this, and Alfred quickly began to lose interest. He started to look around at the other plants whilst tuning out to Arthur’s voice, and wondered how long it took for him to get this place to the way it was all by himself.

He then spotted some movement and spotted a little robin bird flapping like mad as it tried to escape from the green netting caught round its foot. Instinctively Alfred walked to try and free it but forgot about his lack of physical presence in this place as his hand was unable to take hold of the trapped bird.

“Hey Arthur,” he called out, “this little guy got stuck.”

Arthur paused with what he was doing and walked over to where Alfred was squatting down. “Oh not again,” he sighed with his hands placed upon his hips. “This one always tries to get the seeds I planted here, but he always ends up getting caught in the net.”

He squatted down and Alfred watched as Arthur reached for the bird, having to try a few times as the small creature was understandably terrified of the large hand reaching for it. He eventually caught it and held it gently as he carefully removed the netting from it’s tiny feet.

Once it was free, Arthur inspected it to make sure there were no other injuries. “You silly little thing,” chuckled Arthur, “I warned you about the netting and yet you still come anyway.”

Alfred expected Arthur to release the bird straight away but some odd reason he held onto it, gently stroking its head with careful finger. A while two minutes passed and Arthur had still yet to let go, he just stared at it with sad looking smile. It was like looking at a child who didn’t want to give up his favourite toy. The bird seemed desperate to get away but didn’t move out of fear, it just waited for a chance to escape.

“I think it wants to go,” Alfred said finally.

His voice seem to bring Arthur back to reality and he sighed as he opened his hand, the bird hopping up onto his thumb before flying off. They watched as the bird landed atop a shrubbery with other birds, chirping away as if all was right with the world.

Although he had done a good deed by helping the poor little thing Arthur didn’t seem too happy about it, and Alfred quickly picked up on that.

“Aren’t you happy you helped him?” asked Alfred, “look, he’s back with his buddies.”

Arthur sighed as he seemed to be conflicted. “A few weeks ago there was a strong wind and that bird ended up flying headfirst into a window,” he said with a heavy heart, “I brought it inside and tended to it’s wounds... but when the time came to release it...” Arthur looked down at his hands. “I couldn’t. I thought I could keep it and have it keep me company. However one day I left the window open and when I had my back turned, it flew away.”

Upon finishing his sad little story, Arthur slumped a bit and stared at the ground. Hearing the sad tale helped Alfred understand Arthur a little better. “You were lonely?”

“It does tend to get a little lonesome here,” admitted Arthur, not looking up. “Though it was probably best it left, staying cooped up would have done it no good. I just wished it stayed a little longer.”

Alfred seemed confused as there was an easy remedy to this problem. “Surely you can go out and meet people? Or invite somebody? I’m sure they’d love to see your garden.”

That made Arthur smirk a little. “That’s a nice idea,” he said, not really sounding invested in it. He then stood up and wiped the dirt from his trousers. “Anyway I got some peonies to take care of.”

Alfred cringed at the name of that flower. “Peonies,” he repeated with a disgusted tone.

“What? You don’t like them?” asked Arthur.

“N-no,” replied Alfred as he jumped up. “It’s just I’m dealing with a bunch of idiots who can decide between peonies or lilies!”

Arthur now looked confused. “What on earth are you blabbering about?”

Alfred took a deep breath and got his thoughts together. Although he wasn’t dealing with the bickering stewards and their floral arrangements right now, it was still bugging him then eventually he was going to end up back there deal with it. It didn’t matter what flower he chose, they’d always find a reason why it wouldn’t work. It wasn’t like he was an expert on flowers...

He looked up Alfred, his blue eyes sparkling with hope. “Hey, you know your flowers right?”

“I have established that, yes?” answered Arthur, taken aback by Alfred’s sudden rush of enthusiasm.

Stepping closer to Arthur, Alfred quickly explained the situation. “Ok, I got this dinner party coming up and the staff are having a meltdown over what flowers to put on the table. They either want lilies or peonies, we were supposed to have orchids but they didn’t bloom too well, anyway I don’t mind which but I have one guest who is sensitive around pollen so they suggested fake ones, but I have another guest who adores flowers because they don’t grow where he comes from, and we don’t want to offend him so that option is out of the question and-...”

Arthur raised his hand, signalling Alfred to cease in his rambling. “Ok, ok... so you’re having a disagreement over the floral arrangement, and because of certain complications you need to have a specific type of flower as so not to upset anyone. Is that correct?”

Alfred nodded. Arthur placed a hand upon his chin and began to think. “I suppose the only suitable choice would be roses,” he suggested.

“Roses?” 

“Yes, roses,” repeated Arthur. He then signalled Alfred to follow him and the pair walked through the garden until they reached a large rose bush, which displayed a beautiful selection of roses. Arthur carefully cut one off with a set of pliers he carried and waved it before Alfred. “They don’t carry a lot of pollen, are absolutely stunning to look at, come in a wide variety of colours, and I guarantee they will make your little dinner party stand out.” 

It certainly was beautiful to look at and Alfred could certainly picture them decorating the dinner table whilst wowing the guests. Not too overwhelming and at the same time they’d catch anyone’s attention. He tried to reach for it but once again forgot he couldn’t.

“You’re an awfully silly ghost, aren’t you,” chuckled Arthur, bring the rose up to his face.

“I’m not a ghost,” pouted Alfred, folding his arms as he blushed in embarrassment.

As Arthur placed the rose into his waistcoat pocket, Alfred noticed in a corner of the garden it looked like Arthur was growing something interesting. An entire section of the earth had been pulled away and neatly laid stones had been carefully placed around a section of moist soil. A small sprout was popping up but it was difficult to make out what it was supposed to be. Whatever it was Arthur was clearly putting a lot of effort into it.

“What’s that one?” asked Alfred.

Arthur glanced over at where he was pointing. “Ah that... that is top secret. Trust me, you don’t want that on your dinner table.”

“Seriously?” whined Alfred, unsatisfied with the answer he was given.

“It’s a special project of mine,” gloated Arthur, “I’m actually growing five of them. One in each corner and one in the middle.”

“What is it though? C’mon, tell me,” pleaded Alfred, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Arthur sighed. “Well it’s not as if you’ll be interested. I’m growing-...”

“Don’t ask me, they don’t care for my suggestions either!”

“What?” Without even realising it Alfred found himself looking at Yao, the Jack looking absolutely fed up that his stress lines were starting to show.

“You’re the King, just pick one and tell them to get on with it,” snapped Yao as he folded his arms in anger.

Alfred turned round and saw the stewards bickering over the flowers, just as they had done before he ended up at Arthur’s place. He was no longer in the garden but had returned to the dining hall at the exact moment he had supposedly left.

What was going on? It felt like an hour or more had passed but it was like he hadn’t moved. Yao didn’t seem to notice anything off and the stewards were still bickering to even pay attention. He had so many questions running through his mind right now, he didn’t know where to begin.

“Alfred!” Hearing Yao using a harsh tone to announce his name made him jump. “Just pick one so we can all relax!”

Although he wanted to find out why he was disappearing to somewhere else with no one noticing, Alfred wanted this pointless bickering to end. He turned to face his stewards and loudly cleared his throat.

“Ok listen up,” he barked, putting some authority into his voice, “we’re not going with peonies or lilies!”

That made the stewards gasp. “B-but your majesty, we need-“

“I’m not finished,” snapped Alfred, the way he spoke even made Yao stand up to attention. Recalling clearly what Arthur had suggested to him Alfred gave his decision. “We’re going with roses,” he decreed, “they barely have any pollen, they come in lots of different colours and they’ll be modest whilst also standing out. We’re going with that and that is final.”

At first his command was met with silence but then the stewards began talking amongst themselves.

“That could actually work.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“The King of Clubs might actually like them.”

“We can get red white and blue ones.”

They don’t have an overwhelming scent, so the King of Hearts will be safe.”

“I even think the King of Diamonds loves roses.”

“Why didn’t we think of this before?”

They then bowed before Alfred, thanking him for his idea and took off to make the preparations. Alfred merely sighed with relief that it was at last all over and even Yao seemed to be impressed.

“You handled that well,” he said with a rare smile, “I didn’t think you had a vast knowledge on flowers.”

Although it was at last over and done with, Alfred was still troubled about his bizarre visits. They weren’t dreams and whilst he couldn’t touch anything there it all felt real. So what was it? Where was he going? Why did he spend hours there and only a second passed here? And... who exactly was Arthur?

He met him three times now and the only thing he knew about him was his name and hobbies. Just who exactly was he? And where was he? Was he even in this world? It was all so confusing.

“Alfred, is something the matter?” Yao was surprised that the King was gloating about how he fixed the problem, no matter how trivial it was.

Alfred looked over at Yao with weary eyes. “Can we go talk in private?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Arthur singing the song “Sleepsong” by Secret Garden.


	5. Chapter 5

“Would you explain that again please?”

Yao took a sip of his tea whilst trying to process what his King had just told him. It sounded like something a child would come up with, but then again this was Alfred and half the time he acted like an overgrown one. Still the young King did appear to be troubled and it was something he couldn’t ignore.

“Like I said,” sighed Alfred as he leaned back into his chair, “I just randomly end up in this other place where some lonely man lives and no one seems to notice.”

“And this has happened... how many times?” Yao wanted all the facts so he could try and put it all together and make sense of it. “Tell me when and where these trips of yours happen.”

“Three times now,” explained Alfred, “the first happened in my sleep right after the tree ceremony, the second time was when I was doing all that paperwork with the planner, and it happened again whilst we were arguing over the flowers just now.”

Yao gave Alfred a puzzled look. “Are you sure you’re not just dreaming?”

“The same dream three times in a row?” scoffed Alfred, “and it can’t be, the last time it happened I was wide awake.”

“Maybe it’s stress?” suggested Yao with a shrug.

“I don’t know,” huffed Alfred, slapping his hands onto the arms of his chair. “It can’t be an illusion or a dream... it feels too real.”

Yao didn’t seem to have an answer for his King, and this whole thing didn’t make any sense to him. When Alfred called to him for his advice over the flower situation he didn’t disappear from his sight, though he did notice a change in his attitude in that split second. One moment he was understandably stressed and then the next second he looked completely lost before suddenly giving out commands like a proper king. It was almost like he had gotten away to calm himself down, only he didn’t go anywhere.

He wasn’t sure if Alfred was making it up or if it was all in his head due to stress, but Yao found that he just couldn’t make any sense of this tall tale. One didn’t just vanish into a whole other world without anyone noticing. Also this world he described sounded strange, well not overly strange but still. A man who lived by himself with a garden surrounded by a large stone wall? Maybe this was just Alfred’s way of trying to get out of work and he was trying to be creative about it.

“Look, maybe you just need a full day to yourself to get this out of your system,” suggested Yao. “Why not visit the spa? I can book an appointment for you?”

Alfred blew some air passed his closed lips. It sounded like Yao didn’t believe him and he couldn’t exactly blame him, who would believe a story like his. He still couldn’t believe that this was all some illusion, but what was it? His mind playing tricks on him? He had hoped Yao would had some sort of suggestion of what it was, but even he didn’t any idea and assumed it was just something born from stress.

“I know it’s hard to believe Yao, but that place... that person... it just felt real,” sighed Alfred.

“Oh really?” Yao sipped his tea again. “Apparently you can’t touch anything there?”

“Well... yeah,” admitted Alfred.

Yao raised a single eyebrow. “And yet it feels real?”

“Yes,” insisted Alfred, sitting up and placing his clenched hands onto his desk. “It was where I got the idea for the roses.”

“Everyone knows about roses, even you, they just didn’t think of it until you mentioned them,” retorted Yao, looking at Alfred with an unconvinced expression, “you expect me to believe that in that split second you went into another world where some person suggested that to you for a full hour? I was looking at you Alfred and you went no where.”

Alfred slumped forward and sighed. The way Yao phrased it did make it sound like he was just making up an unbelievable story. 

“Look, you’re stressed and you haven’t had enough time for yourself,” sighed Yao, “I’ve been pushing you to keep everything up to date and we’ve got a few important events coming up so it’s no wonder you’re like this.” Yao finished his tea and pulled out his notebook. “I’m setting you up at the spa, maybe an acupuncture session will help you relax.”

That made Alfred flinch and lean as far back into his chair as he could. “No, no! Nothing with needles!” he begged, the very idea terrifying him. “I hate needles, you know damn well I hate them!”

“Oh fine,” huffed Yao as he scribbled away, “maybe a deep tissue massage, a sea salt scrub and a soak in medical bath. As long as you come out of it with refreshed mind and body then I’ll be happy. We still got lots of work to do and I need you in top condition.”

Alfred wanted to convince Yao that he wasn’t making it up, but even he knew that was impossible, plus he actually could use a day at the spa for it had been a while since his last visit. Maybe it’ll actually help him get his mind together. Still even he wasn’t sure what was happening to him, he didn’t know if it was all in his head or someone had cast a magic spell over him, but he couldn’t deny that this Arthur he met in that world just felt real to him.

——————————

The Kingdom of Spades has many spas but the one that was used exclusively by the Royal court was supposedly one of the best. Known as the Blue Butterfly, which Alfred thought was a really stupid name that he wouldn’t even name a nightclub, it had serviced members of the Spade Court for centuries. It had treatments that would make even the most stressed out person feel like everything about the world was perfect and getting an appointment there was almost impossible.

It was open to the public as long as you could afford it, but if the King were to visit then it would close its doors until the King left. It was for security reasons but also because the owners of the spa were incredibly snobby, and only cared to keep their high class customer happy, especially royalty. Alfred didn’t mind so much but he always found it weird being the only patron in there. 

Nevertheless he arrived in style and they provided an amazing service that was indeed helping him to relax. The spa staff waited on him hand and foot, wanting nothing more but to have their King leave with a smile and a stress free mind. He had a soak in a large hot bath filled with perfumes, had hot stones placed upon his back to ease the tension, his body scrubbed with high quality salts until his skin was ridiculously smooth, got massaged by a few lovely ladies and even had a ice cold soda served to him in a fancy glass.

It was days like this that he truly felt like a King. All the stress he had before seemed to have melted away and he actually found he wasn’t so anxious about the dinner party. He could probably stare up at King Ivan with a huge smile and not be intimidated by him.

Whilst he was waiting for his facial treatment, he was shown around some historical parts of the spa and it did have some interesting history but he really wasn’t into it. Then again he had nothing better to do whilst waiting for his next treatment so he decided to humour the ecstatic owner of the establishment. Wearing nothing but a white cotton dressing gown and slippers Alfred casually followed the owner around one of the upper floors, trying to act interested.

“Our first customer was a King of Spades you know,” gloated the owner, “and we’ve not only serviced members of the Spade court but we’re had the Diamond court and the Heart court all come here. We’ve yet to serve the Club court but you never know.”

“Uh huh,” replied Alfred.

“We even have treatments here that no other spa in the world has, people from all over book years in advance just to get such an exclusive treatment,” bragged the owner.

“No kidding,” yawned Alfred.

“Also this place was a favourite of the last Queen of Spades,” continued the owner, “my great great grandmother told me she came here all the time. In fact she always had this suite reserved just for her. It’s actually really popular and we’ve got bookings for it years in advance. I mean who wouldn’t want to use the room where the last Queen of Spades visited so often. They sometimes like to pretend they’re the Queen when in this room.”

As the owner pointed to a red door with gold etchings, Alfred made a huffy sound. “You tell all your guests that story?”

The owner suddenly appeared apologetic upon noticing his King’s sudden change in attitude. “I did not mean to offend you, your majesty. I know you haven’t been King for long but we citizens are used to the fact there is no Queen. We actually named this suite after the Last Queen in honour of the missing member of the Spade Court.” 

The name above the door read, “Maria Somerset,” upon a beautifully decorated plaque. It was a famous name in the Kingdom as it did belong to the last Queen of Spades. It was also a little sad to hear from one of his subjects that they were used to the fact that they had no Queen and yet they just carried on like normal.

“Anyway, your majesty, we are having a new edition added to the beauty parlour that was inspired by the Kingdom of Hearts, if you just follow me.”

As the owner skipped away to continue with the tour, Alfred got a little curious and decided to have a peep inside the exclusive suite. Opening the door he peered in and found a room filled with elegant furniture and the puffiest carpet he had ever seen. He stepped inside and the scent of lavender and honeysuckle filled his nostrils. It wasn’t what he expected nor in his taste but he couldn’t complain if it brought in the crowds.

“Your majesty?” called out the owner.

“Oh I’m just-...” Alfred turned round as he shouted back at the owner but found himself staring at a fire place. “AGAIN!?”

He was back in that room, the lounge part this time.

“Dammit,” he sighed.

Why did he come back here? He wasn’t stressed and despite being relaxed he was wide awake, so why? He rubbed his hands over his face with a tired groan. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but he didn’t know who to ask and he wasn’t even certain he’d get an answer. So far the only one he told was Yao and even he thought it was just a story born from stress inspired illusions.

Oh well, he was here now so might as well make the best of it. 

He looked around for where Arthur could be, wondering if he would be happy to see him again or annoyed... judging by what Alfred knew about him so far it was probably both. He walked around the room but didn’t see him. He wasn’t anywhere in the bedroom and the bathroom was empty. Peering out of the window in the lounge he was able get a better view of Arthur’s garden and from this angle it looked even more impressive.

All of the plants and flowers were arranged in carefully planned lanes and circles, forming a large beautiful pattern made up of different colours. It was impressive that with limited space Arthur was able to fill up the garden with such a wide variety of flowers. Alfred also noticed that in all four corners and in the centre of the garden were those special allotments that Arthur had prepared for his top secret plants. In fact he spotted Arthur crouching over one of them whilst writing in a book.

Alfred walked through the door, down the spiral staircase and into the garden, walking over to where Arthur appeared to be talking to himself whilst jotting down notes.

“...so you’ve grown another three centimetres overnight Galahad? That’s unusually fast... then again I have been giving you lot extra attention... I wonder if that’s the reason? Or is it my... hmmmm... but you do look pretty today. Your leaves are almost sprouting and appear to be purple, just like the book stated-...”

“Who’s Galahad?,” asked Alfred suddenly.

Arthur flinched and lost control of his pen, scribbling over his handwriting. Alfred expected to get shouted at but Arthur merely sighed and glared up at him over his shoulder.

“Could you at least announce your arrival in a way that doesn’t make my heart jump up my throat?” he demanded, ripping out the ruined page and scrunching it up.

Honestly Alfred wanted to give him a little scare and he merely smirked at Arthur. “So who’s Galahad?”

Arthur blushed and looked away. “N-no one,” he answered.

“Who were you talking to?” asked Alfred, now getting curious.

“No one,” snapped Arthur, “now leave me alone you idiot!”

Alfred was now very intrigued and he looked at the plant Arthur had been crouching over and back to him. He eventually put two and two together. “You name your plants?”

Arthur’s face turned bright red and stood up, stamping his foot upon the ground. “S-so what if I do?” he blurted out, “They’re my plants so it’s my responsibility to name them!”

“Don’t they already have names though?” pointed out Alfred, “you’re basically giving them two names.”

Arthur’s face was burning red, either from embarrassment or anger but just as he was about to shout at Alfred he looked at him with a bewildered gaze. “Why are you wearing a dressing gown?”

Looking down Alfred went red in the face himself when he realised he was still wearing the spa gear... and nothing else. “I w-was about to take a bath,” he lied, tightening up the belt just to be safe. “I didn’t exactly choose to show up here dressed like this.”

Arthur didn’t seem too impressed with Alfred’s current attire, but he just rolled his eyes and focused his attention on his book. “If you must know then yes, I name my plants. Happy?”

“And you remember all of them?” Alfred looked round and pointed to a random flower. “Who’s that?”

Arthur said nothing at first but as Alfred stared at him with sparkling blue eyes he eventually gave in. “Mary,” answered Arthur.

“And this one?” asked Alfred as he pointed to another.

“Wendy.”

“What about this lot?”

“George, William and Henry.”

“That one?”

“Peter.”

“The one over there?”

“That’s Anne... no wait, that’s Catherine.”

Alfred thought it was adorable that Arthur named all his plants and also thought it was impressive he remembered them all. He then looked at the special plant that Arthur had been crouching over earlier.

“And this one is called... Galahad?”

“Yes,” answered Arthur with a proud smile.

“That’s a funny name,” snorted Alfred.

“Well he’s a special plant so he needs a special name, just like his other siblings.” Arthur then began to walk towards the centre of his garden and Alfred followed. “In that corner is Lancelot, over in that one is Bedivere, over there is Gawain and right here is Guinevere.” Arthur stopped right in front of a small plant poking out of the dirt. “She’s actually growing quite fast this one,” exclaimed Arthur, beaming with pride.

Alfred wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or not, given his lack of knowledge around plants, but he complimented Arthur just the same. “Well it looks like it’s growing really well, you must be happy.”

“Of course I am... though I’m a bit surprised at how fast they’re growing,” confessed Arthur, “they already grew five centimetres in total since I planted them and that’s too fast.”

Again Alfred had no idea. “Is it the fertiliser?” he guessed.

“At first I assumed it was but-“

“KIRKLAND!”

The two men jumped at the loud voice that echoed across the garden and Arthur suddenly closed his eyes and grimaced. “Oh bollocks,” he cursed.

Alfred looked up and saw another man walking towards them. He was dressed in ridiculously fancy clothing that he himself would not be caught dead in and had a horrid pasty face with dark hair. Within his hand he held a beautiful looking cane but with the way he walked it looked like he didn’t even need one. He stomped towards them, not caring if he damaged any of the flowers, his beady eyes focused upon the young men.

At first Alfred was a little hopeful, apart from Arthur he hadn’t met anyone else in this place. Maybe he had some answers as to where they were? He looked like a pompous ass but hopefully he would be civil to speak with.

He approached the newcomer and gave him a smile. “Hey there friend, sorry for the getup but it’s out of my control. I’m Al-...”

The man completely ignored Alfred and walked right through him. The sensation of having someone walk through him felt weird and he couldn’t help but shiver. He turned round to find the man only seemed interested in Arthur.

“What the hell, you jerk,” snapped Alfred.

Once again the man ignored him and focused on Arthur. “Why do you look so miserable? You should be ecstatic that I have graced you with my presence!” barked the man, his voice shrill and annoying.

Arthur looked over the man’s shoulder at Alfred. “Can you... not see him?” he asked, pointing towards Alfred.

“See who?” The man spun round and though he was looking in Alfred’s direction, he wasn’t looking at him. Alfred did wave with both hands but it didn’t seem to catch his attention.

“What are you talking about?” snapped the man, “see who?”

Alfred blinked in surprise. This new person couldn’t see him? Arthur could but this guy couldn’t? Why? What was the difference between this new guy and the man Alfred already knew? It only added to the pile of questions he had about this strange experience he was going through.

The man in question returned his attention to Arthur. “Is this one of your imaginary friends? I’ve heard you been talking to yourself. My word it’s pathetic.”

Wow this guy was rude. Alfred already assumed he was a pompous jerk but the way he spoke to Arthur only proved his assumption correct. For some reason Arthur just stood there and said nothing, allowing the man to talk down at him like he was nothing. Arthur had a somewhat stubborn personality from what he knew about him, so why wasn’t he defending himself?

“It’s embarrassing, I mean the idea that you believe in such idiotic things is both amusing and ludicrous!” The man went on and on, berating Arthur with every insult one could throw at him.

Alfred stepped closer and sneered at him. “Jeez Arthur, what bit this guy on the ass?”

Arthur scowled at him. “Be quiet,” he said with a huff.

“Did you just tell me to be quiet!?” shrieked the man, his face twisting into a shocked and angry expression.

“No, not you,” gasped Arthur. He glared at Alfred and waved his arms at him, trying to tell him to go away.

Alfred thought he should obey Arthur and make himself scarce... but he could not help but smirk mischievously as some ideas began popping into his head. He rubbed his hands together and walked a little closer, causing Arthur to look a little panicked.

“Then who in blazes were you talking to! Your imaginary friends again?” spat the man, glaring daggers at Arthur.

“Yes?” replied Arthur, with a failed attempt at a smile, his eyes darting back between him and Alfred.

Once he was standing next to the rude man, Alfred snickered with glee as he raised his arm and shoved it through the man’s head, giving the illusion that the man had an actual arm stuck in his head. The man kept talking as if nothing was wrong and Alfred couldn’t resist waving his hand.

“Hey Arthur, he’s a little empty headed, ain’t he?” he cackled, pulling his arm back and forth.

Upon doing that Alfred noticed a smirk trying to form on Arthur’s face but he was fighting against it. “Stop it,” he hissed.

“I beg your pardon!?” barked the man.

“N-nothing!” Arthur looked at Alfred desperately but it was clear that he wasn’t going to stop.

Alfred then moved behind the man and started poking his arms through his back, so it appeared that arms were coming out of the man’s chest. He waved them about and made stupid gestures, even making it look like the man was picking his own nose.

That almost made Arthur break into laughter as a small sound escaped his throat, but he held it in as best he could. The smile he was trying to prevent was still trying to form across his face, and he bit down on his own thumb.

“What is wrong with you?” shrieked the man, “have you gone mad?”

“N-nothings wrong,” insisted Arthur, desperately trying to keep his mouth from twisting into a smile.

Alfred gave Arthur a wicked grin and set a challenge for himself; he was going to make Arthur laugh before this guy left. He danced around the man, screamed rude words in his ear, continued to shove his arms through various parts of his body and made ridiculous poses around him. With every silly thing he did drove Arthur closer and closer to laughter, already his body was trembling and he planted a hand across his mouth, uttering small snorts as he tried to contain the uncontrollable giggles.

“Would you cease this behaviour at once!” The man was stomping his foot upon the ground in fit of anger as unbeknownst to him he was being made a fool of.

Arthur didn’t respond out of fear of laughing but Alfred knew he was close, he just had to push him a little further.

“And now for the big finale,” he declared, waggling his eyebrows at Arthur. Arthur shook his head but Alfred responded with nodding.

“I’ve had enough of your ridiculous banter,” shouted the man, “now obey me and stop this at once!”

Alfred then forced himself through the man’s body from behind so that it looked like his own upper body was coming right out of the man’s gut and cried out, “TA DA!”

That did it. Arthur released a loud “pfffft” sound before clutching his own gut and began howling with laughter. Tears streamed down his face and he had to turn away from them both as he laughed and laughed like there was no tomorrow. He gave up on trying to hold it and just let it flowed out, his laughs echoing around the garden.

Seeing Arthur laughing like a madman set Alfred off and he ended up falling on his backside and laughed like crazy. He kicked the ground with his feet and felt like that the laughter would never end. Alfred couldn’t even remember the last time he laughed like that, his sides were starting to hurt but he didn’t care.

However the pompous arse of a man didn’t find it funny and he bellowed our a loud, “ENOUGH!”

Alfred sat up, reaching under his glasses and wiping the tears from his eyes and watched as Arthur forced himself to stop laughing. Even though it looked like he got Arthur in trouble, Alfred believed that it was worth it.

The man literally almost shoved his face into Arthur’s own and hissed vile words at him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but if you keep this up I’ll have your privileges revoked! The only reason I came here is because I’m having esteemed guests coming and I need... oh, you know what I need.” The man held out his hand and wiggled his fingers.

Arthur looked at the outreached open hand and sighed, reaching into the pouch wrapped round his waist, pulling out a pair of scissors. Alfred watched in confusion as Arthur pulled a lock of his own hair and cut it off, handing it over to the man. Before Alfred could even wonder what that was all about the man took off, muttering foul words under his breath and eventually disappearing through one of the doors.

“You’re awful, you know that.”

Alfred looked up to see Arthur scowling down at him. Alfred just grinned and jumped up. “Oh come on, you thought it was funny too, right?”

His expression hadn’t changed, though he did raise a single eyebrow. A minute passed before a smirk appeared on his face. “Just don’t do that again, the last thing I need is for him to get angry at me,” he huffed as he walked over to inspect some of the damaged flowers.

Alfred chuckled but looked back towards the door than grouchy man left through. “Who was that jerk anyway? And why did he want your hair?”

“Him?” Arthur rubbed his head as he turned round. “He’s just a-...” Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Alfred with his eyes wide open. His face turned a very bright shade of pink and he looked away, coughing a little. “Alfred... your, um... your belt is undone.”

At first Alfred didn’t understand what he meant until it dawned on him that he was still wearing a dressing gown. Looking down at himself, Alfred went very red in the face when he realised his belt had indeed come undone and his hidden naked body was not so hidden anymore. 

“D-Don’t look, you perv!” he wailed, quickly covering himself up and tightening up his belt.

“I beg your pardon, your majesty?”

After he tightened his belt Alfred looked up to find himself back in the suite back at the spa. Looking over his shoulder he saw the owner standing in the doorway with a very confused expression.

“I didn’t see anything, your majesty,” insisted the owner, rubbing his hands together awkwardly. “Has your belt malfunctioned? Would you like another gown?”

“No, no,” answered Alfred, feeling a little lost at the moment. “We were touring the spa, right? Shall we continue?”

“Of course,” chuckled the owner, relieved that nothing had happened, ushering the King to follow him.

As Alfred left the suite, he rubbed his brow and went into a deep thought. Instead of finding answers he now only had more questions. His sides were still aching from the laughter, his cheeks still burned from embarrassment after his accidental indecent exposure. Whatever these episodes were, they were very real. He had to find out what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case some of you don’t know, Arthur named his special plants after four knights of the round table and King Arthur’s Queen, Guinevere. No special reason, I just thought they sounded pretty.


	6. Chapter 6

Stepping back to look up at his work, Alfred tapped the marker he was holding against his bottom lip and stared intensely at his work.

“Alright, lets figure this out,” he murmured to himself.

After the fourth visit to that other place, Arthur’s Garden he decided to name it, Alfred decided to try and figure out why he was constantly and randomly going there against his will. The first step of any investigation was to take note of every piece of information he had and he did just that. In his office he erected a whiteboard and scribbled on everything he knew so far.

The first thing he recorded were the dates and rough timings he went to the garden. The first one happened in his sleep right after the tree ceremony, the second just as he was about to take a nap the day after, the third when he was dealing with difficult staff and the fourth was when he was at the spa. So far nothing connected these things, they were just random times throughout the day, though so far it looked like he was going there once a day.

“So will I end up there today?” he thought out loud as the spa trip was yesterday. He’d have to wait and see.

The second thing he recorded was everything he knew about Arthur’s Garden, including Arthur himself. He was a stubborn man with thick eyebrows who lived by himself and maintained a beautiful garden that was surrounded by a large stone wall. Arthur didn’t seem to know why Alfred was showing up either, always acting surprised whenever he appeared. He knew things about magic and supernatural things, had a few talents...

“...and has a good singing voice,” recalled Alfred as he wrote that down.

Alfred couldn’t touch anything or anyone in that place and although Arthur could see and hear him, it turns out that no one else there could. That rude man from his last visit seemed to lash out at anything that upset him, and he didn’t even make eye contact with him even when Alfred was making a fool out of him. So why just Arthur and no one else?

“Made him laugh at least,” chuckled Alfred as he made some more notes. “He looked ridiculous.”

There still other things that made no sense to him. Who was that grouchy man who appeared in his last visit? What was his relationship with Arthur, and why did he take some of his hair? Where was that place? A tower maybe? Some house with a very high wall? Why was he constantly going there at random?

The other thing he took note of was that whilst he was over at Arthur’s Garden, time didn’t seem to move here at the palace. He could be gone for over an hour and only a second would pass here, he had witnesses who claim that he never went anywhere, so what was up with that?

One thing he did know that it wasn’t a dream or an illusion. He may not be able to fully interact in that place but it was as real as the tip of his nose. All he had to do now was figure out why he was going there, who was sending him there, and where exactly was it?

Looking at all the notes he took Alfred sighed as none of them connected. The only pattern he could see was that so far he had been going once a day for the past four days. Maybe today he’d end up there but the question was when?

Someone knocked at his door and he looked up to see Yao letting himself in. “I trust the spa has helped you relax?” he asked, “because we got a busy day today and you better play your part.”

“I know, I know,” mumbled Alfred as he placed the marker down and walked over to his desk.

As Yao approached he noticed the white board and was curious as well as surprised. “What’s all this?” 

“I’m trying to figure out why I go to this other place all the time,” answered Alfred nonchalantly.

Yao groaned in disbelief. “I thought the trip to the spa was supposed to get this off your mind.”

“It happened at the spa too Yao, I went there whilst on a tour... better write that down just in case.” Alfred grabbed the marker and scribbled that little detail on the whiteboard too.

Rolling his eyes, Yao decided not to interfere. This was probably some game the King had come up with to either get out of duties or use to annoy him. If only he put this much effort into his work. “Well get this out of your mind for now because we have a lot to do today.”

Alfred nodded. “Ok, but it’s possible today I might end up going somewhere for a second, so don’t be surprised if I act a little dazed out of nowhere,” he warned.

Yao gave Alfred a blank stare before saying, “let’s get on with it then.”

The first thing they did was fill out some forms, nothing interesting but it was still vital stuff, like maintenance jobs throughout the Kingdom and some rather pitiful complaints or concerns from the citizens. Alfred had to stop himself from laughing when the head of the farming committee wrote in to complain about a dispute over a stray cat. It was easily fixed; Yao suggested that they either keep the cat to hunt for pests or send it to an animal sanctuary, and also not to send something like this to the King ever again. Alfred and Yao discussed certain things back and forth, finding decisions they both agreed on, and finally stamping each one with a stamp of approval.

“So, did you go anywhere?” asked Yao in a sarcastic voice as he neatly arranged the completed paperwork.

Alfred shook his head, he had been there the whole time. Maybe later on he’d end up going?

The next thing on their list was to inspect the royal guard, another trivial thing as it was just an excuse to check up on them whilst they showed off, but Alfred didn’t mind it so much as there was no paperwork for starters. He toured the barracks, shared friendly words with the captain and lieutenants, saying hello to the young recruits, was shown special formations and drills, and finally shared a coffee with them before leaving. Everything was in order and the royal guard were happy.

“Go anywhere?” asked Yao.

“No,” answered Alfred.

Lunch came and went. Nothing happened, though Alfred was anticipating to end up in Arthur’s Garden throughout his whole meal. It never happened.

The next thing on Alfred’s to do list was to write a speech for a charity dinner next week. It wasn’t anything grand but showing his face would help the organisation raise money for its cause as well as boost his public image. A few drafts later and Alfred finally produced something he could say to a crowd without offending anyone. Yao looked it over and was satisfied, insisting that Alfred should practice reading it.

“So, did you-...”

“No.”

It was late in the afternoon and Alfred was finishing off his final task. It wasn’t anything interesting, just getting updates about the status of the towns and villages in his Kingdom. Nothing major was reported and everything was as it should be, everything running like clockwork. He ticked boxes, gave orders and made plans to improve some minor problems. 

Yao didn’t even bother asking him this time, he just thanked Alfred for his hard work and retired for the day.

Before he even realised it, it was time for dinner. Alfred ate but he poked at his food from time to time, wondering why he didn’t go to the garden today? 

With the day over and everything complete, Alfred casually walked back to his room deep in thought. Had something changed? Did he do something different? Or was his last visit actually his final visit? He should of felt glad, now that he no longer was going to randomly go over there whilst in the middle of something, and yet he didn’t feel glad. He wasn’t sure what he felt.

He read some comics. Worked out in his gym. Watched some cartoons. Ate some snacks. Read some more comics. Played a video game. Ate some more snacks. Time was dragging on and on until he glanced up at the clock and saw that it was getting late.

“Maybe it’s over,” he thought to himself as he changed out of his clothes. 

He showered and brushed his teeth, changed into his pyjamas and climbed into bed, clapping his hands so the light would go off and stared into the dark. He took in a deep breath and silently exhaled, his thoughts all muddled up and his emotional state made little sense.

“I didn’t even say bye,” he murmured to himself as he rolled over and closed his eyes, thinking about Arthur. Was he still tending to his garden? Was he singing to his special plants? Did he even exist? These thoughts stayed with him as he slipped into a deep sleep.

——————————

“Alfred? Alfred, wake up.”

Alfred groaned and slowly opened his eyes. It was still dark and he couldn’t really see anything. With a grunt he sat up, rubbing his eyes and reached for his glasses. His mind was still in the process of waking up but he could’ve sworn he heard someone say his name.

“Alfred.”

For a second Alfred thought he imagined the voice but as his eyes focused he saw someone standing next to his bed. His heart raced as thoughts of ghosts filled his mind. With trembling hands he quickly reached for his bedside lamp and switched it on, gasping when he spotted who had been calling him.

A little girl?

Alfred stared at her. She didn’t look like a ghost. She had pale skin and was dressed in ridiculously frilly clothing but she seemed to be alive and present... at least he thought so. The little girl smiled sweetly at him and giggled but not in a creepy way that ghosts were famous for. She seemed sweet and innocent, and Alfred couldn’t feel any malice from her. Who was she? How did she get in here? Was she a daughter of one of the maids?

Before he could ask the girl stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “Alfred, we should hurry,” she said.

“Hurry?” What for? What was going on? Before he could even ask she dashed off towards the door, looked back at him and ushered him to follow before disappearing. “Hey wait!”

Alfred jumped out of bed and ran after her. He didn’t know why but something was telling him to follow the girl, that where ever she was leading him was important. The hallways were dark with only the moonlight pouring in through the windows and the lace curtains dancing in the gentle breeze. It was creepy as hell but Alfred wanted to know who that child was. She didn’t run too far, stopping to look over her shoulder as Alfred caught up with her.

“Hurry Alfred,” she pleaded, continuing to rush through the silent corridors of the palace.

Without even asking why Alfred did as she asked. She lead him deeper and deeper into the palace, further and further, her footsteps echoing throughout the halls. Alfred wanted to ask the girl where they were going when he heard a distant thumping sound. At hurst he thought it was the sound of his own heart but he realised that it was something else.

“We’re almost there,” stated the girl, running towards the noise. “Come on Alfred.”

“Where are we going?” shouted Alfred as he followed.

The girl didn’t respond and kept going, leaving Alfred no choice but to follow. With every step he took the louder the noise got, and the more terrifying it sounded. The girl didn’t seem to show any fear as she constantly peeped over her shoulder to make certain Alfred was following. It was like something or someone was pounding against a wall, and it sounded... angry.

The girl finally stopped and pointed down a hallway. “We’re here Alfred.”

Alfred cautiously peered down the hallway where the girl pointed, almost afraid at what he was going to see. It lead to a large silver door completely covered in rusted chains and locks. The loud banging noise was coming from behind the door, with every bang the door shook violently and the chains rattled. The door groaned and creaked and looked like it would break apart, the chains began to strain and were on the verge of snapping. Something behind that door wanted to get out and it wasn’t going to give up until the door came off its hinges.

It wasn’t the door itself that scared Alfred, it was that horrifying presence he could feel behind that door. It made him tremble on the spot and he couldn’t find the courage to utter a single word, as if he was afraid that the thing behind the door would hear him. It was like a force of overwhelming hatred and spite was trying to get out, wanting to cover the world in malice and ruin. 

“They want to get out,” said the girl finally, “I’ve been keeping the door locked but soon not even those chains will hold them.”

Alfred looked down at the girl. “What’s behind that door?”

The girl stared up at him. “They want the world to suffer as they have suffered. They almost brought the world to ruin, but before they could he locked them behind that door and I have been guarding them ever since.”

Bring ruin to the world? “What? Why?”

The girl looked back at the door. “You and the others have been keeping them calm, but they have grown weary of your efforts and their desire to see the world fall into chaos has only grown, and I have become tired. Soon the chains will break... and then all will suffer.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Alfred, feeling a chill wash over him. The banging grew louder and Alfred was certain he could hear cries of anguish.

“The Kingdom of Clubs will freeze. The Kingdom of Hearts will flood. The Kingdom of Diamonds will rot. The Kingdom of Spades will crumble. The whole world will fall to ruin. This is what will come to pass unless you finished what was started.”

Hearing this almost made Alfred’s heart stop, even though it was coming from the mouth of a little girl it sounded as if she was speaking the pure truth. The banging grew louder and louder and the cries became even more terrifying, it was like they were right in his ear. The girl looked back up at him, her eyes were like staring into a void and Alfred couldn’t look away, it was like he was getting pulled into them.

“Their blood is on your hands Alfred. It’s always been there.”

It was then that Alfred felt a sticky sensation upon his fingers, and looked down. His eyes widened in horror as he found that his hands were drenched in fresh blood, dripping down onto the floor into a large bloody puddle. He could feel his heart beat faster and the fear he felt was intensifying. He stared back at the girl and was horrified to see she too was soaked in blood as it dripped from her eyes like an endless flow of tears.

“You better find him Alfred, he’s waiting.”

With a jerk and a gasp Alfred woke up, sitting up and breathing rapidly as his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode. His body was drenched in cold sweat and his hands were shaking like mad he had to clench his hands a few times before they calmed down. Once they stopped shaking he opened and inspected them, relieved that there was no trace of blood on either of them. He looked around and even though his vision was blurred he recognised his own room, the sunlight pouring in through the windows and the birds singing outside.

He wiped his wet brow and flopped back onto his bed. “What the hell was that?”

That dream... no, it was more like a nightmare was a little foggy to recall properly but he remembered the little girl, the banging door, the terrible warning and the blood dripping from his fingers. It left a horrid feeling deep down inside him and it felt like nothing could wash away these terrible thoughts. 

What did it all mean? Dreams were usually a mess of thoughts and ideas twisted into a bizarre story of nonsense but this dream had a purpose, Alfred was sure of it. What was behind that door? Why was it angry? Why were his hands drenched in blood and who did it come from? ...and who exactly was that girl?

“As if I don’t have enough on my mind,” he moaned, running a hand over his face.

He could only hope that it was just a dream.

——————————

“You have rings under your eyes. Did you sleep well?” asked Yao as Alfred munched away on his cinnamon toast.

“I had a bad dream,” muttered Alfred, not really feeling enthusiastic and ate his breakfast like it was the hardest thing to do.

Yao appeared amused. “That garden place of yours? Did this eyebrow monster of yours scare you?”

“No,” huffed Alfred as he poured a glass of orange juice, “that place felt real, the dream I had was... weird, creepy and weird.”

“All dreams are weird,” chuckled Yao, “if they weren’t they’d be boring.”

Alfred responded meekly and forced the rest of his toast into his mouth. It wasn’t just the dream that was bugging him, he had mixed feelings about why he didn’t go to Arthur’s Garden yesterday. Although he should be glad he was still bummed that his last visit might as well have been his last visit. He still couldn’t think straight and it was because of that damn nightmare, he was going to be on edge every time he walked through the palace in case he came across that very door.

“Say Yao... do we have any silver doors covered in chains that contain a terrible creature or something?” he asked.

Yao cocked his head in confusion after hearing that. “No,” he answered in a somewhat shocked voice, “what kind of question is that?”

“No reason,” sighed Alfred, “I’m just tired.”

“I suggest you drink some coffee then,” suggested Yao, turning round to take his leave, “we got more work to do.”

“Yay,” responded Alfred in a weary voice as he switched on the radio, hoping that something would be playing to get his mind off the dream.

“...-and that’s all for the weather forecast, now ladies and gentlemen it’s time to announce our annual contest, Queen of Spades for a day! Yes, it’s that time of year where you can win the chance to be a Queen for a day!”

As cheering sounds and cheesy music erupted over the radio, Alfred had to make sure he heard that right. Queen of Spades for a day? A contest? How come he never heard of this before? Yao had left so asking him was out of the question, so he looked over at a nearby steward and beckoned him over.

“What the hell is this Queen of Spades for a day thing?” he asked as the radio continued to yap on about it.

“Oh that,” chuckled the steward, “it’s a contest State Radio holds once a year. It’s nothing special, if you win you just win a luxury holiday for two and, like the name suggests, you get treated like a Queen. The name of the contest has raised a few eyebrows but it’s just for fun and to draw in the attention.”

“Well it sounds ridiculous,” huffed Alfred as he stood up and straightened out his jacket. “Now I got to go and...”

Upon looking up he found that he wasn’t in his dining room anymore. He was in a garden.

Alfred had to look round to make sure but this was definitely Arthur’s Garden. “I’m back,” he gasped.

“You’re back,” came a voice.

Alfred looked over his shoulder to see Arthur standing nearby holding a watering can. He looked well and didn’t seem too upset with Alfred’s arrival. “Nice to see you again,” he said in a polite tone, watering some of the flowers as he spoke.

“Hey Arthur,” greeted Alfred as he waved his hand and actually managed to form a grin, “thought I’d never see you again.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Arthur suddenly appeared annoyed with him, glaring at him with some spite in his eyes.

“Nothing, nothing,” chuckled Alfred, “anyway how’s the garden?” He looked around and it looked like it had became even more livelier than the last time he was here. “So how’s Peter doing?” he asked whilst pointing at a random flower.

“First, that’s Olivia you idiot. Second, it’s been doing very well, thank you much.” Arthur walked around some pink hydrangea, giving them some water. “I just got to water Elizabeth here and then sing to them.”

“Oh, I came at a good time then,” said Alfred with a grin. “You have such a lovely voice when you sing.”

Arthur blushed a little. “I sing for my garden you idiot,” he declared, “just because they don’t walk or talk like us, doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a good song.”

Alfred stuck out his tongue. “I know you sing for your garden,” he teased, “Why? Did you assume that I thought you were going to sing for me?”

Hearing that got Arthur flabbergasted and his face continued to glow scarlet. “W-What!? N-no, I... you... I... w-why would... IDIOT!” 

Hearing Arthur getting tongue tied made Alfred laugh, it was strange yet amusing to hear him unable to form sentences. As the blushing man stomped off to put his watering can away, Alfred could not help but smile. Even though he should be wondering why he had come back, he could not help but notice how relaxed he felt. Earlier on he was a morning train wreck not wanting to face the day, but now all of his concerns and sense of dread seemed to wash away. He even forgot about that horrible dream.

It was then that he heard that gentle voice singing that almost hypnotic song. Peering round the hydrangea plant he spotted Arthur sitting on a bench he had placed close to his centre most special plant, singing the song that Alfred had heard before. Arthur seemed completely at peace as he sang and a few birds perched nearby to listen to him, every note he uttered seem to chase away the shadows. Time felt like it stopped and the flowers almost felt like they were truly alive as Arthur sung to them.

Alfred carefully approached and sat upon the same bench, his eyes focused on the singer. Arthur paused when he noticed his surprise guest sitting close by.

“Do you have to be so close?” he mumbled, clearly not used to having a person for an audience as he shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

“Oh come on,” pleaded Alfred, “just pretend I’m not here.”

Arthur snorted. “With you that will be a challenge.”

Nevertheless Arthur cleared his throat and began to sing his song, his cheeks a little red but he carried on. Alfred leaned back upon the bench and closed his own eyes as he lost himself in the beautiful melody, feeling as if he was truly at peace as the song cleared his mind of all worries and concerns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In regards to the technology in this universe, I imagine the world to be like a mix between Final Fantasy 12 and 7, so there are things like radio, tv and cars but in a fantasy setting.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be a bit of a bore, it’s mostly explanations of the lore with some Easter Eggs here and there if you look carefully ;)

As Alfred finished off signing the last document for the morning, he placed it on his out pile with a smile and even stood up to take the pile of forms over to the briefcase, all the while humming a familiar tune. After handing the briefcase to the clerk, whilst also giving him a pat on the shoulder and thanking him for his hard work, he turned to Yao and enthusiastically asked, “What’s next?”

He walked with a skip in his step and his eyes seem to sparkle like stars as he preformed his tasks throughout the day. He strolled round the palace and he greeted his subjects in an enthusiastic manner, winking whilst pointing at them or just giving them a charming salute. He did all of his work with a smile and completed it all without whining or complaining about it.

Yao seemed curious as to why Alfred was in such a good mood when this morning he looked like a zombie ready to go back to its grave. Still he couldn’t complain as all the tasks that needed to be completed ended up getting completed. All of the inspections and meetings were taken of and according to the schedule and work plan, everything was up to date meaning Yao only had to worry about surprises which he could handle.

Now it was lunchtime and as Alfred stuffed his face with his favourite burgers, Yao looked over the schedule and was surprised that everything was completed this morning. “Apart from a chat with the district mayor of the eastern city regarding some policies, it looks like you got a free afternoon.”

“Whewee?” replied Alfred, his mouth currently occupied with a half eaten burger. He forced himself to swallow it and rubbed his greasy lips with the back of his hand. “So there isn’t anything we need to do?”

Yao double checked the monthly plan. “We don’t need to inspect the guest rooms for the other courts until next week, nor do we have to go over the menu just yet as the caterers are currently taking stock. There are no other meetings or events coming up. So... no, we are fully up to date,” confirmed Yao with a smile.

“Aw, shame,” gasped Alfred after downing an ice cold soda, patting his chest to force out a trapped belch. “I’m actually eager to do something today.”

Now Yao was really curious. “Ok, what happened?” he demanded, “This morning you looked ready to meet your maker, and now you’re acting like you’re on top of the world.”

Alfred just smiled and winked at the Jack. “Let’s just say I took a quick trip this morning,” was all that he said.

It wasn’t the answer Yao was hoping for but he took it for what it was. “I just wish you were like this everyday,” he mumbled as he double checked his notes.

Slurping away at his soda, Alfred just smirked as his hardworking Jack went over his notes to try and find something for him to do. He truly did feel a whole lot better than he did earlier on this morning and it was all thanks to his little trip to Arthur’s Garden. He didn’t even realise that he was happy to return there until after he returned to the palace.

Nothing interesting happened during his visit, well nothing majorly interesting. Arthur greeted him politely for a change though he did call him an idiot when Alfred teased him. Arthur then sung to his garden and allowed Alfred to listen in, despite feeling embarrassment with having someone who could talk back as an audience. Once he was done singing the pair of them talked for a while about trivial things. Some of their topics made them either invested in the conversation or get pouty about it, but the longer they talked the more Alfred got lost in Arthur’s world. Despite when he called him an idiot or said one thing when he meant another, Arthur was an interesting guy to talk to. He could get full of himself but he did seem to take an interest in Alfred’s own nonsense.

When Alfred ended up returning from the garden, he found that all of his previous concerns and worries were gone. He was able to wear a smile and do his work without feeling any dread. It was almost as if Arthur had unknowingly placed a spell on him and replaced all of Alfred’s bad vibes with good ones. Well whatever Arthur did it did the trick, for Alfred truly did feel like he was on top of the world and nothing could knock him down. Nothing could get rid of this good mood.

“Well seeing that you got all of your work done and you’re in a good mood, I believe you have time to squeeze this in,” suggested Yao, holding up a document before Alfred.

Alfred stared at the document and his smile vanished. “No, not that!” he begged, “anything but that!”

“Oh come now Alfred, even I have to do this once in a while,” scoffed Yao as he folded his arms, “and you need this more than I do.”

“No! No, no, no!” Alfred shook his head and banged his fists on the table, looking like a child throwing a tantrum. “Please Yao! Paperwork, talks with planners, even an argument over dinner arrangements! I’d rather sit and have tea with a bunch of old ladies and talk about the weather! Anything but this!”

“Sorry Alfred, but you are due for one anyway so you might as well get it over and done with,” insisted Yao.

Alfred wailed and felt himself falling off the top of his perfect world into a dark abyss of suffering.

“BUT I HATE SCHOOL!” he screamed, his voice echoing throughout the palace.

——————————

Now it wasn’t exactly school that Alfred had to attend but he called it that because it pretty much like school only worse. In fact he’d rather go to an actual school. Since he was still quite young, and hadn’t been a King for that long, Alfred had to attend private lessons to learn about his lineage and the responsibilities that came with it. Yao attended similar lessons but only rarely nowadays as he had been a Jack long before Alfred became a King, and he full knowledge of his abilities and responsibilities as a Jack. In all honesty he just went for what he called a tune up.

Alfred just slumped on his desk as his tutor droned on and on about proper responsibilities, the history of their Kingdom, and all other things that went in one ear and out the other. He had such a dull tone it made the sound of a ticking clock sound far more appealing.

“This sucks soooo much,” he muttered to himself.

That was the point of these lessons; so Alfred could fully master his abilities as a King of Spades, as well as understand where and when he could use them. Being a King didn’t mean you ruled a Kingdom with a fancy mark upon your body that proved your birthright, it was a whole other ballgame. In a short version all the Kings, their Queens, their Jacks and Aces were responsible for maintaining balance in the world and each Kingdom had a unique power to maintain that balance.

The Kingdom of Spades power was to control time and space. 

When Alfred became King he found he could wield the power to manipulate time and space to his will, but just because he could didn’t mean he was supposed to. Even if he wanted to pause time or rewind it to a certain point he couldn’t as it would upset the stability of the world. It was hard to explain but Alfred could only do it with permission from the universe, which was also hard to explain.

Simply put, Alfred wasn’t allowed to mess about with time for his own gain or amusement.

There were some loopholes, for example if Alfred dropped a cup and broke it, he could control the time in that particular space and edit time so that the cup never broke. The cup wasn’t alive and it wouldn’t affect the flow of time wether it was broke or not, of course there were other complications but that was something else. Alfred used to do this all the time when he broke something and the world hadn’t ended yet.

There were other things he could do, like he could fold space and move from one area to another as long as he knew where he was going. It was cheap to call it teleportation but that was basically what it was. He could summon anything to his position, but never living people for obvious reasons. There were other neat things he could do but, as he was told over and over; with great power came great responsibility.

One last thing. Every King was born with their own unique signature ability. It was like their one and only power that they alone possessed and no King before or after them could wield it. You didn’t even need to be a King to wield it for it is present upon birth, as if the Universe already decided who was next in line and granted them a gift before the obtain their mark. Sometimes that made it easy to find who was next in line, depending on what the ability was.

Alfred’s unique ability wasn’t magical or anything like that. He was born with insanely powerful strength. In fact Alfred recalled when he was a young boy he almost knocked down a large statue by accident. Although he got scolded for it, all the scholars and his own father realised that this meant he was to be the next King.

It was the same for Queens, Jacks and Aces. They were born with their own unique ability as well as the powers that came with their mark. Apparently Yao could, in his own words, predict movement. It wasn’t like seeing the future or something like that, but if he got into a fight he could dodge every single move. If somebody threw something he’d knew exactly where to stand to catch it. If somebody tried to sneak up on him he could tell where they were a mile off no matter how sneaky they were. In other other words, Yao was almost untouchable. It didn’t sound at all interesting but Yao claimed it made his life insanely easier.

Anyway, Alfred had to take these lessons at least once a month until the scholars were happy that he knew what he needed to know, and fully understood his powers. It was a right pain in the butt, but it was one of those things that had to be done.

He demonstrated his ability to fold space to move about, or teleport to one of the room to the other. He was able to reverse time in a small space to fix a broken clock. He was able to give an abridged version of their Kingdom’s history and stressed about the importance of using his power responsibly.

It had only been an hour but it felt like an eternity. If Alfred could speed up time he would’ve done it ages ago but he already went through a whole lesson as to why he couldn’t.

“Well, you majesty, we still got ten minutes left,” sighed the tutor, as he checked his watch.

“I guess we can finish early today then?” suggested Alfred, hopeful that he could get out of here and do something to bring some life back into his dying brain.

The tutor laughed, “good one, your majesty,” as he reached for a pile of books.

Alfred didn’t change his expression but he did scream internally. The tutor placed the books upon Alfred’s desk, three of them and upon each cover was a different mark of the Spade Kingdom. The first book had the mark of the King, the other bore the mark of the Jack, and the last one bore a mark that had not been seen in a hundred years; the mark of the Queen.

“I think for a special lesson we can go over some of our famous Kings, Queens and Jacks,” insisted the tutor as he opened the book with the mark of the King.

Alfred groaned and rested his hand upon his arms, staring down at the pages with uninterested eyes. The tutor opened a page that displayed a King from the distant past, a female one with short hair known as King Amelia the Brash. There were two pictures of her on display, one of standing in a garden and the second one was a close up of her mark, which was upon her arm.

“Ah, King Amelia,” proclaimed the tutor, “like the name suggests she often dealt with situations head on, but was a firm believer in justice and truth. The Kingdom adored her for despite her brash actions, she did everything in her power to se that her subjects lived comfortable lives. Apparently she mostly solved her problems with violence but her Queen managed to stop her whenever things got out of hand.”

Under the picture of the King was the name of her Queen and Jack. Queen Alice the Patient and Jack Chun-Yan the Gentle.

As the tutor continued to go on and on about King Amelia, Alfred flipped through the book to look at other Kings, some of them more famous than others. There was King George the Patriot, King Robert the Brave, King Maria the Young, King Elizabeth the Beloved, King Duncan the Warrior and King Abraham the Just. There were so many others but it would take Alfred all day to read them all.

He then glanced at the book with the mark of the Queen. The tutor was still yapping on so Alfred decided to have a little look. The first page he opened was surprisingly Queen Alice, King Amelia’s Queen. She was a fair women with her hair tied up in pigtails, and her mark upon her navel. He flipped through the pages and looked at all the other Queens from the past. Queen Anne the Pleasant, Queen Sarah the Graceful, Queen Theodore the Polite and Queen Oliver the Charming. He eventually landed upon the page that displayed Queen Maria the Last. She was a beautiful to look at, with hair as dark as night and a charming face, but did they really need to call her the Last? Yes she was the last Queen of Spades, but was that how she wanted to be remembered? What would her title have been if she wasn’t the last?

“How long are you going to sit there? It’s rude to not announce yourself when visiting, you should know that by now.”

Alfred looked up and saw the room had changed. He wasn’t at his desk but upon a couch and opposite him on another couch was Arthur.

“You’re unusually quiet this time round,” murmured Arthur, who was in the middle of sewing something.

Although he should be used to this by now, Alfred was surprised that he was back already. He had already been there once this morning during breakfast and now again in the afternoon? Was it because he didn’t go yesterday? Were his visits purely random?

“Hey,” snapped Arthur, snapping his fingers in Alfred’s face, “what’s the matter with you?”

“Sorry,” muttered Alfred as he rubbed his brow, “I’ve got so much on my mind right now.”

“Really now,” replied Arthur, crossing his legs as he sewed and giving his guest a nonchalant stare, “and what exactly is on your mind?”

Where to begin? “I guess, I’m trying to figure out why I keep coming here,” said Alfred as he leaned back in the couch. “I don’t know why I keep coming here and I don’t know when it happens. It just happens wether I want to or not.”

“Do you... not like coming here?” asked Arthur, pausing his work and looking at Alfred with a hint of worry in his eyes.

“No, not at all,” insisted Alfred, not sure himself how true this was. “I just don’t know the reason behind it all. No one I tell believes me and I don’t even know where to start looking.”

Arthur seem to go into a deep thinking state after hearing Alfred’s concerns. “I’ll admit even I don’t know why you keep popping in here at random,” he confessed. “I even asked the faeries about and they have no answer to give me.”

“I see,” sighed Alfred, “well I do appreciate-... hold on a sec, you asked who?”

“Hmm? Oh, I asked the faeries about you,” replied Arthur, talking about it as if it were normal, “they don’t come around so often for certain reasons but when they do we have our little talks. They give me some of the seeds I use for my garden, and they teach me such lovely songs.”

Alfred stared at Arthur with a dumbfounded look. “Faeries?”

“Yes, faeries,” confirmed Arthur with a nod.

He wasn’t sure if Arthur was joking or not but with they he looked at him he was being dead serious, as if what he was saying was completely normal. Faeries were mythical creatures said to be crafty and magical, and to this day there were debates wether they were real or not. Some say they hide from humans because of their violent nature, others say they were made up to tell stories for children. Alfred grew up not believing in them, as his philosophy was if he couldn’t see it then it didn’t exist.

“You speak... to faeries?” asked Alfred, wanting to confirm that his ears were still working.

Arthur nodded as he continued to sew. “When I was little they were my only friends. We played in the forests and meadows, and they showed me things no other man could had seen before.” Arthur looked nostalgic and a little sad as he continued. “I met sprites, pixies, brownies and even Unicorns. One of my closest friends was mint bunny, he was so adorable.”

As Arthur rambled on and on about his enchanted friends, Alfred started to question wether or not Arthur was actually insane and that he had been somehow hiding it really well. Then again he named his plants and who does that anyway!?

Whilst going on about his supposed faerie friends, Arthur noticed the look Alfred was giving him and he stopped. “Not even you believe me,” he sighed.

Noticing how hurt Arthur looked, Alfred felt a little bad but he still couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “It’s just... I don’t really believe in-...”

“Don’t say that,” barked Arthur, suddenly angry, “every time someone says that, a faerie gets ill!”

Alfred bit his tongue to stop himself from finishing his sentence. “Sorry,” he said, choosing his next words carefully, “but do you expect me to believe that you can see things others can’t?”

“I can see you, can’t I?” huffed Arthur. “No one else can.”

That was a fair point. “B-but I’m not a faerie,” argued Alfred, trying not to picture himself dressed in a tutu and donning faerie wings.

“Oh trust me,” snorted Arthur with amusement, “I know for a fact that you are no faerie. You’re too big and unrefined to be one.”

Alfred folded his arms and pouted, not sure if he should be insulted or not. He still refused to believe in such nonsense but Arthur himself seemed to be fully convinced of their existence.

“Would you like to hear a story?” asked Arthur out of the blue.

It seemed a little suspicious and Alfred was wondering if this was elaborate trick to tease him. “What kind of story?” 

Arthur smiled innocently at him. “It’s a story of how I rescued some faeries from... an wicked witch.”

Alfred was a little too old for stories like that but he couldn’t deny he was quite intrigued. It sounded like Arthur just wanted to tell him some fancy faerie tale he made up and make himself out to be the hero just to impress him. Alfred decided to humour him and play along.

“Ok then,” he said, leaning back to get comfortable, “go on.”

Arthur cleared his throat and began his story. “Once upon a time, there was this wicked witch who cared only for her vanity, using her spells to trick others into seeing her as the fairest creature in all the land. She was cruel and unkind, only caring for herself and took pleasure in the misery of others. All the other witches were disgusted with how she misused her magic and turned their back on her, much to her anger. For you see she not only wanted to be the fairest but she wanted to be the greatest witch in the world.”

It seemed to be interesting so far, and the way Arthur voiced the tale was catching his attention. Alfred leaned forward as Arthur continued.

“One day she managed to trap five faeries inside five bottles, made from an enchanted glass that allowed anyone to see them, for faeries were difficult to see with the naked eye.”

“How’d she trap them?” asked Alfred.

“She supposedly tricked them with an enchantment, luring them into the bottles and sealing them shut before they could escape. They begged her to release them but their pleas fell on deaf ears. The witch planned to use the poor creatures in her spells to further her own beauty and show off to the other witches, for catching a single faerie was considered a great feat to all witch kind. As the poor faeries resigned to their fate, they wept and wept.”

Alfred was now resting his elbows upon his legs, his full attention focused on Arthur’s story. “They didn’t... die, did they?” 

“Patience,” chuckled Arthur, “anyway, seeing a faerie is difficult and hearing one is just as hard, especially if you’re trapped inside a glass bottle. However their small cries eventually caught the attention of a passing wanderer, who happened to a charming and well refined young man.”

“Is this wanderer you?” asked Alfred.

“He was,” confirmed Arthur with a grin, “and he heard the cries coming from the witch’s house. He knew he couldn’t leave those poor creatures to such a terrible fate but the wanderer was afraid of going into the witch’s house. So he waited patiently until the witch went into a deep sleep, her snores so loud that even the bats and lizards fled in all directions to get away from her.”

That last part made Alfred chortle a little.

“So the wanderer crept into the house, being careful not to utter a single sound. It was dark and filled with all of her gear, like her broom, her pointy hat, her boxes filled with frogs and newts. The wanderer was afraid but he knew he had to save those faeries. So he moved around the cauldron filled with her disgusting brew and had to hold his nose as he passed her potions, for they smelled so disgusting that they’d make a cockroach pass out.”

“Ew,” laughed Alfred as he imagined the smell.

“He stepped over her mouldy boots and passed her as she slept upon her bed, covered in the rotting fungus and moss from a foul bog. He finally reached the table where she kept the faeries trapped in their bottles, the little creatures now filled with hope that their freedom was close. The wanderer didn’t want to stay there any longer so he had no choice but to take all five bottles at once.”

Yikes, even Alfred couldn’t imagine holding five bottle whilst sneaking through a room with a snoring witch.

“So with all five bottles in hand, the wanderer crept back towards the door, trying his best not to clink the bottles. He just made it past her bed when suddenly one of the bottles fell from his grip!”

That actually made Alfred gasp. “He dropped it!?”

“Almost,” answered Arthur using a dramatic tone, “he managed to break its fall with his foot, preventing the bottle from smashing and keeping the trapped faerie safe. The witch continued to slumber so he quickly picked up the bottle and finally escaped from the witch’s house. He took the bottles as far as he could, freeing the faeries and smashing the bottles so that they’d never trap another faerie ever again. The faeries were grateful but they wanted to quickly return to their home so that the witch could never find them, and so they each gave the wanderer a seed and told him if he planted them and raised them with love, they would grant any wish he desired.”

Arthur stopped talking, leaving Alfred wondering if that was the end or not. “Is that it?”

“For now,” chuckled Arthur, “he’s still tending to them, and hopes that once they grow they’ll grant his hearts deepest wish.”

“What is his wish?” asked Alfred.

Arthur placed his finger to his lips. “It’s a secret.”

Alfred made a “boo” sound and flopped back on the couch. “That story was too short and I hated the ending,” he huffed, “tell me another one!”

“Another one?” Arthur tried to think of another story to tell. “How about the story of when I saved some maidens from a dragon?”

“You did not,” chuckled Alfred, knowing now that Arthur was just making all this up, “but tell me anyway!”

Arthur rolled his eyes with an amused smile and told Alfred a tale of a terrible dragon and the maidens he saved from his fiery wrath. He then told him a story of how he met a Unicorn who lead him to a long forgotten grove filled with treasure, and another story of how a goblin tried to eat him when he was a child, but was saved by a flying mint bunny. Alfred listened to every word, his eyes filled with wonder and enchantment as the words Arthur spoke formed beautiful pictures in his mind.


	8. Chapter 8

Spinning around on his chair, Alfred came to a stop and stared at his whiteboard, drumming his fingers upon the arms as he stared at every single piece of information he had gathered regarding Arthur’s Garden. He had recorded his last two visits and everything he had been doing just before he went there.

“What’s the connection?” he asked himself. “There just has to be one.”

He looked back to his first visit. It happened in his sleep right after the tree ceremony. The second happened on his desk just before he closed his eyes to take a nap.

“At first I thought it was triggered by sleeping,” pondered Alfred aloud, tapping his finger upon the rim of his glasses, “but during all the last ones I was wide awake, so it’s not sleep.”

He made a note of that in case he came back to that conclusion. The third happened during an argument over flowers. Was it stress then? No, because he was stress free at the spa during his fourth visit. A whole day passed after that and his fifth visit happened right after he finished breakfast and he was feeling particularly foul that morning, then on the same day he went on his sixth visit during his boring lessons.

“Is it boredom then?” He scratched his head as he looked back and forth between the separate visits. “I was kinda bored during all of these events, but I wasn’t bored during breakfast I was just tired. Plus you can’t exactly be bored in your sleep.”

Alfred sighed as he found that there was still no solid connection between any of these events. He even thought he had a pattern, that it happened daily but recently that was proven to be false. With a huff he slumped back into his chair and spun himself around, all of his thoughts in a bit of a muddle.

There had to be something that triggered his visits, something he was missing. This couldn’t be random, his gut was telling him that he was doing something during these events that made him go to the garden, he just had to figure it out.

“Ok, next time I go I’m going to write down everything I did just before I get there,” proclaimed Alfred, grabbing a small notebook and pen and shoving them in his jacket pocket. “Now I just have to wait...”

He drummed his fingers along his desk. The clock continued to tick away. Alfred looked from one side of the room to the other.

“I guess I might as well do something whilst I wait,” he huffed.

So Alfred decided to go for a stroll around the palace, saying hello to his subjects and checking out rooms he had never gone into or never had a good look at. He went to the library, a few guest rooms, a trophy room of sorts, Yao’s office which was currently vacant, a large lounge and even the indoor pool he hadn’t used in a while.

The day was going by pretty fast but so far nothing had happened. He did chat with some of the maids, joke with the guards standing on patrol, and accidentally engaged in boring conversations with the scholars. After all that Alfred strolled down a hallway by himself and lost himself in his thoughts. This day seemed like it was going to be uneventful.

“Alfred!”

Spoke too soon.

Alfred looked up to see Yao dashing over. He seemed neither stressed or concerned so hopefully this wasn’t anything serious.

“S’up Yao,” greeted Alfred with a smile, “what have you got for me?”

Yao cleared his throat. “Ok, I’ve got some news that you’ll like and some news that’ll possibly upset you,” he stated.

“So... good news and bad news?” Alfred was a little worried now but as no news that Yao gave him was ever good, even if he said it was.

“Yes,” confirmed Yao, “So the good news first, the Nelson University has some caterer students currently in the middle of their course, and their teacher was hoping that you’d let them help take part in the dinner party to further their education. I think we could have them prepare the dessert so I talked with him and we arranged a little contest. The students prepare a dessert each and you taste test them and choose which one you want.”

Alfred’s blue eyes sparkled like stars and he drooled as thoughts of endless cakes, sweets and puddings were presented before him. It sounded like a fantasy of his had come true, not only did he get to choose the dessert for some fancy dinner party but he got to taste every single test dish! It sounded like fun and he got to get his tastebuds drowning in sugary treats. This was quite possibly the best news Yao had ever given him!

“Yes, yes, a hundreds times yes,” squealed Alfred, not realising his chin was almost soaked in saliva. “When is it? When is it?”

Yao smirked, amused with his King’s reaction. “It’ll take place next week so the students can prepare. There’s only five of them so don’t expect a huge variety. I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”

Alfred nodded and continued to loose himself in thoughts of cakes covered in sugary icing and pies filled with sweet fruit. This had to be the best part about being a King, eating mountains of desserts and didn’t have to feel guilty about it.

“Now, the bad news,” sighed Yao, dreading at how Alfred might take this and was hoping the good news he just gave him would keep him in his good mood. “It has been noticed by some that you are currently lacking a... significant other.”

Alfred’s sweet daydream vanished and he stared at Yao in confusion. “Come again?”

“Look, I know you’ve only been King for six months now,” mumbled Yao who appeared embarrassed, “but certain parties were hoping you’d be dating a potential consort by now.”

Alfred’s sweet inspired smile then twisted into a scowl and he started to storm off without uttering a word.

Yao chases after him. “Hey, I don’t really care if you have one or not but-...”

“Who?” snapped Alfred. “Who thinks I need a consort!?” This sort of thing put Alfred in a particularly foul mood. 

“No one in particular, but there has been talk amongst the lower court members,” sighed Yao, who didn’t exactly seem keen to talk about such things. “Look, the daughter of Lady Hamilton from the southern Kingdom is visiting and they were hoping you’d invite her to tea or something. She’s a fair young lady from what I hear and quite popular with the public.”

Alfred groaned almost viscously and slammed a fist against a wall, forming a large dent in the stone, the chandelier above them shaking from the impact. “Dammit, I’m not interested!” he spat.

He hated this, he hated this more than anything. It wasn’t about the consorts themselves but at the same time it was.

Even before he became King he was constantly forced to meet with pretty young ladies, all who were carefully selected to become his potential bride. He turned them all away as he wasn’t interested in having a relationship, but the ministers and advisors from the lower court pleaded with him to take a bride. Since there was no Queen in their Kingdom the Kings took consorts instead, Alfred’s own mother being one. They lacked authority in the Kingdom and were only there to give their King some comfort, seen as nothing more than a pretty accessory and a face the public could see and fawn over.

Alfred didn’t want that. He didn’t want some woman to be nothing more than a pretty face who stood next to them. If he ever did take someone as a bride than he wanted to rule the Kingdom with them together, like the other Kings did with their Queens, but that was just a pipe dream. His consort would be treated like some lowly addition to his court and given no proper respect.

Now Alfred knew his father loved his mother and his mother loved his father back, but as Alfred grew up he noticed his father was solely focused on finding the Queen of Spades. He’d spent hours in his study researching over every single piece of information he had, sometimes spending days in there. It hurt Alfred to think that his father wanted to Queen instead of his mother, and he started resenting him a little whenever the subject was brought up.

When his mother passed away he actually got angry at his father during the funeral, claiming that he never loved her because she was not a Queen. He didn’t speak to him for a whole month and to his frustration his father continued to seek out the Queen.

Alfred did love his father and respected the man that he was, but he found that he hated him too and thinking that way about him hurt him even more. His emotional state about the whole thing was conflicted and he didn’t know how to handle it. Whenever someone brought anything related to the subject, he got really angry and lashed out at whoever had the gull to bring it up. He knew he shouldn’t act like this now that he was King so he just forced it deep down and tried to block it all out, but whenever something like this came up it caused this buried emotions to rise up.

It was why he resented the Queen of Spades, his father’s obsession.

Yao knew Alfred hated talking about it, but the pressure was on him to get the King into a relationship. “I have a list of other young maidens? Or young gentleman if you’re interested? Look, just try and sit with one of them? It’ll get them off both our backs.”

Alfred gritted his teeth and his face burned with rage. He knew this wasn’t Yao’s fault but it got him so mad that he couldn’t contain his rage. “I DON’T CARE!” he shouted.

“Don’t shout!”

Alfred gasped and looked up, finding himself in the familiar garden he was constantly jumping into. The birds tweeted their song and a gentle breeze made the flowers rustle gently. Alfred glanced to his right and there stood Arthur, looking a little concerned whilst holding a basket of leaves and twigs.

“What are you screaming about?” he asked, placing the basket down and approaching Alfred. “You aren’t throwing a tantrum, are you? You’re a grown man, you can’t just scream like a child. It’s ungentlemanly.”

Alfred was in no mood for Arthur’s criticism. “Oh leave me alone,” he spat, folding his arms, turning around and sitting down on the grass. He was in such a foul mood that he couldn’t even be bothered to think about Arthur’s Garden. If he just waited this out he’d be out of here.

However Arthur didn’t take the hint. “Oh stop sulking,” he scoffed, “it won’t do you any good.”

“I’m not in the mood,” hissed Alfred, trying to hide his face in his arms. “I don’t want to be here, so just get on with your gardening and leave me alone. I’ll probably go back in a little while anyway.”

Sighing whilst shaking his head in a disapproving manner, Arthur plopped down next to Alfred, his expression was still firm though it had softened a little, as did his voice. “What’s wrong then?”

Alfred wasn’t in the mood to talk. 

“Look, something is clearly wrong and bottling it up isn’t going to help,” sighed Arthur, trying to get his voice to sound a little softer. “You don’t have to tell me the full story, you can just talk a little to get if off your mind.”

Alfred made a grunt as he fully buried his face into his arms, hoping Arthur would take the hint and leave him alone.

“Fine then,” huffed Arthur, standing back up and wiping the grass from his clothes. “You can sit there and sulk like a brat. I’m going to prune Matilda over here, so when you finally decide to act like an adult I’ll be over here.”

Peeping over his arms, Alfred watched as Arthur stomped over to a large shrubbery, pulled out shears from his pouch and snipped away at the loose twigs and leaves. Alfred’s cheeks inflated as he let out an agitated huff and stubbornly refused to say anything. He was just going to wait and let this blow over like he normally did.

A minute passed. And then another, and another. Alfred peeped up again to see Arthur was completely focused on his task, not even looking over to check on him. With a pout he buried his face back into his arms. More minutes passed and Alfred peeped again, not sure if he should feel annoyed that Arthur was continuing to ignore him.

He eventually heard a voice in the back of his head, telling him to just say something and get it over with but it conflicted with his stubbornness. Alfred wasn’t even certain what to say. He wasn’t even certain if talking to Arthur would help at all, it wasn’t his problem.

Still as minutes continued to pass, Alfred finally raised his head. “I-...”

Arthur glanced over the moment he heard Alfred’s voice. “Yes?”

Alfred twiddled his fingers as he tried to think of what to say. “I... um... I have a... my old man... er...”

“Yes?” repeated Arthur with a coaxing tone, putting his shears away and walking over to Alfred.

He had no idea how to put it into words. Alfred tried to think of what to say as he thought that telling Arthur that he resented his dad because of his research that made him think he didn’t care for his mother wouldn’t fly. Alfred tried to think as Arthur continued to stare at him and wait for his explanation, until at last Alfred recalled what Francis had told him almost a week ago.

“Ok, so... there are these ships, right?” began Alfred, “and all these ships have captains and navigators and quartermasters and a whole crew, so they can go to sea and explore the world, right?”

“Right,” replied Arthur as he sat down next to Alfred.

“Well for a long tine now my ship has never had a navigator, so it can’t go to see without getting lost, but it’s crew is still doing ok,” continued Alfred, hoping this was making sense to Arthur. “My dad was the captain before me and he got a... um... a person who wasn’t a navigator but still filled the role... sort of?”

Arthur looked a little confused. “Keep going,” he said, hoping with more information he’d be able to understand.

“Ok, so even though he’s got this person, he’s still trying to find a navigator and no matter how hard he tried he never found one, but he just kept going.” Alfred paused to rub his brow. “Even when my time was coming to become the captain he kept looking and looking, even though it had become impossible. Now I’m the captain, I still don’t have a navigator but I’m fine with it.”

“I see... I think,” mumbled Arthur, trying to process it all.

“It’s just...” Alfred sighed heavily. “He had someone to fill the role and he was happy with them, even though they weren’t really a navigator. That person was good and kind, but wasn’t shown any respect amongst the crew. They just saw some accessory that my dad flaunted about for the sake of it, I mean he did care for this fill-in but he hardly expressed it half the time.” Alfred began to think of his mother, wondering why she put up with her husband’s ongoing absence. “I don’t know why he kept looking for one. I don’t know why he wasn’t happy with her. Even as he was getting real sick and old, he kept looking.”

Arthur remained silent.

Alfred buried his head again. “He was a good man and I loved him but I got so mad whenever he disappeared to seek out the navigator. Now I’m the captain and my crew want me to get someone to fit the role of the navigator... but I don’t want to do that to someone else. I don’t want to do what all the other captains did.”

“You... don’t want to be like the last captain?” guessed Arthur, still processing everything he had been told.

“I don’t even care if we have a navigator or not,” huffed Alfred, “but then I think about the other ships, that they get to sail the seas and explore the world whilst I’m stuck in a harbour.”

“So you... do want a navigator?” asked Arthur cautiously.

“I don’t know,” groaned Alfred, all of his emotions starting to twist and swirl around him. “I’m just mad at my dad for his obsession with finding a navigator when he already had someone. I feel weird whenever the other captains show off their navigators. I get pissed off whenever my crew tells me to find someone to fit the role. I... I don’t even know anymore.” Alfred fell onto his back and crossed his arms over his face. “I don’t know.”

There was silence in the garden, apart from the singing birds and the light breeze. Alfred wasn’t even certain if Arthur had an answer for him, nor did he care if he did or not. He felt like nothing could calm the storm of emotions swirling within his heart.

“I think... your father was trying to find a navigator for you.”

Alfred peeped from under his arms and stared up at Arthur. “What?”

Arthur sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You said he kept looking, even as his time as captain was coming to an end and your time to take the helm was coming. He was already happy with the person filling the role so I think he wasn’t looking for a navigator for himself, I think he was looking for yours.”

What Arthur had just said started to slowly sink in. Alfred slowly sat up as this thought began to take over, thinking back to his youth as his father was constantly researching whilst his mother supported him. Alfred just assumed she only did so because it was her duty, but was it because she wanted her son to have a Queen? She was always smiling whilst he complained and cried whenever his father was busy to play with him, insisting that he was doing important work and that they had to support him.

In fact when it became clear that Alfred was to be the next King, that was when his father began his research into the missing Queen. He didn’t show any particular interest up to that point. Even on his deathbed he apologised over and over to his son. Alfred just held his hand and told him not to worry about it, thinking he was talking about his constant absence in his childhood... but it wasn’t that at all. He was apologising for not finding the Queen for his son.

Was that truly the reason? “What makes you think that?” demanded Alfred, wanting to know for certain if it was the truth.

Arthur shrugged with a small smile. “Well if I had a son who was going to inherit a ship with no navigator, I’d want them to have a navigator so he could go to sea with the other ships and see the world. I think he’d be happy on a ship with someone to guide him.”

Upon hearing that Alfred realised that he too would’ve done the same thing. Was that why his father searched relentlessly for a Queen? Was that why his mother didn’t mind? They just wanted him to rule the Kingdom with someone by his side, wanting to know that when their time in this world was over he wouldn’t be alone. 

He didn’t realise the tears were falling until he felt them splatter upon the hands on his lap.

“Why are you crying?” gasped Arthur, now flailing his arms around in a bit of a panic, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Alfred didn’t utter a sound but he did reach up to wipe them away, pulling his glasses off so he could rub his eyes. Arthur continued to freak out a little, unsure of what to do.

“I’ve got tissues but... you can’t hold them, oh bother,” wailed Arthur, standing up and walking in circles. He clearly never dealt with someone who was upset before, or rather someone who was upset and he was unable to touch them. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. Um, do you have a handkerchief? Oh dear, what should I do?”

Alfred wiped his eyes a few more times before he was confident the tears had stopped. He didn’t like crying in front of others but he felt as if he had needed to do that for a long time. It was as if Arthur had unintentionally unlocked a door that had held all of his bottled up emotions, and now they were spilling out and freeing his heart from a sea of unchecked grief.

It wasn’t just the fact that his father had been seeking out a Queen for him, it was all the other things. All of those emotions he pushed aside, the accusations made against him by the others... it was true. He did feel jealous that the other Kings had their Queens. He did hate the fact he had to sit next to an empty throne. He resented that his people had just given up and accepted the fact there was no Queen and above all else, he truly did wish to have a Queen of his own... he just tried to hide it all away, bury it all under his smile and act like he didn’t care.

With a sniffle, he looked up and couldn’t help but smirk at the panicking man above him. “I’m fine Arthur,” he insisted as he rearranged his glasses, “I just think... that was something I needed to hear.”

Arthur ceases his flailing and stood before Alfred with an apologetic look. “Are you sure you’re feeling better? It wasn’t my intention to make you cry,” he said as he poked his index fingers together.

Alfred shook his head and smiled up at him. “Relax,” he chuckled, “don’t worry about it and besides, I got to see you run around like a headless chicken.”

That made Arthur blush and he pulled an angry and offended expression. “I-I was only concerned for your well being, you idiot!” he snapped, stamping the ground in rage. “That’s the last time I show you any pity. Next time you start crying I’m going to just sit back and laugh at you!” Arthur folded his arms and turned up his head in a huff.

Alfred couldn’t help but laugh as he stood up, always greatly amused with Arthur’s ever changing mood swings. “Well anyway...” Alfred blushed a little as he smiled at the offended man. “Thanks for that Arthur, I needed that.”

Arthur stared at him from the corner of his eyes. “You’re welcome,” he muttered, his cheeks still red. “Just make sure you don’t keep your emotions bottled up like that, it’s not healthy for you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” sighed Alfred as he rolled his eyes, “I promise.”

“I’m serious,” snapped Arthur as he suddenly began lecturing Alfred about proper mental health and dealing with ones emotion. All this coming from Arthur was kind of ironic, at least in Alfred’s eyes.

As Arthur continued yapping away, Alfred noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of Arthur’s special plants had grown quite a lot since his last visit. It was now taller and almost sturdier looking. In fact it looked like it was a-...

“I’m sorry Alfred, I know you hate talking about these kind of things but my hands are tied.”

Alfred glanced up to see Yao speaking in an apologetic voice.

“Oh... that was quick,” muttered Alfred.

“I beg your pardon?” queried Yao, a little surprised at Alfred’s calmer nature. Only a second ago he acted like he was ready to tear the whole palace down.

Alfred just smiled at Yao and patted him on the shoulder. “Relax Yao, I’m sorry I shouted at you,” apologised Alfred with a grin.

Yao stared up at him in bewilderment. “Huh?”

“I was just a little angry that’s all,” explained Alfred unaware that Yao was completely shocked over his sudden mood change, “but I’m better now, all cooled off so don’t fret. Tell you what, go ahead and arrange that tea party with that Lady... what’s her name? Whatever, just set it up and I promise I’ll be there. Anyway I gotta go, so later.” Alfred then turned to leave, giving Yao a wave before taking off with a refreshed smile. 

The Jack just stood there completely confused, unsure if he had heard any of that right. “What just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just to help Alfred overcome his resentment towards the Queen of Spades, as I hinted over the past chapters that he wasn’t particularly happy that his dad was constantly looking for one and he that he didn’t feel like a true King without one.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for those who might be squeamish. There is a brief moment of light gore later down in this chapter.

Sitting in his office with a large cup of soda in one hand and a tray of snacks upon his desk, Alfred flipped through a book that contained everything his father had done in his attempt to solve the mystery of the missing Queen. From what he had written he had tried nearly everything he could do within his power, from consulting the Queens from other Kingdoms to researching the history of the Kingdom, up until the point where the Queen vanished from the Spade court.

After that talk with Arthur earlier on, Alfred decided that in his spare time he should at least investigate the reason behind the missing Queen himself and, should his reign end without a Queen, he could at least pass on his knowledge to the next King and hope he or she would get lucky. He had put his past resentful thoughts towards the Queen behind him, and even though he still thought his Kingdom was still ok without one, he should at least try to seek out the missing member of his court.

“So Philip the Troubled was the first King with no Queen,” mumbled Alfred as he went through the notes and slurped his drink. “He had a lot on his plate and had his guard carry out checks upon the citizens but no one bore the mark. He even enforced a law where every citizen was to be fully inspected.”

That law caused a bit of controversy, in fact his father was the one who abolished it after he became King.

“Next was Michael the Firm, tried using the power of King of Spades to find the Queen, but got nothing. Then Oscar the Mysterious who spent every single day in his study researching, hardly anyone saw the guy. Then my old man, George the Valiant, and he pretty much did what the rest of them did.”

As Alfred went through his father’s notes, he spotted something that caught his interest. A certain mark he had seen in his studies and had been warned about constantly by his tutors and even the other Kings.

“He actually asked a Joker?”

The Joker. No one knew exactly what their role was in this world but some believed that whilst the four Kingdoms and their courts maintained order, the Jokers were the ones who orchestrated discord. They weren’t a threat or a enemy to the four Kingdoms, they were just strange individuals who caused a little havoc here and there, possibly to cure their own boredom. Sometimes they aided the Kingdoms but other times they toyed with them, they never truly picked a side. There were only two of them, which was a relief apparently, one being a young man with scarlet eyes with silver white hair and the other was a child, though he acted older than he looked albeit his mischievous ways. The pair of them neither worked together or against each other, but they were aware of each other.

No one knew if they were ordinary people who eventually received the mark of the Joker, or if they had always been the Joker since the beginning of the Four Kingdoms, no one even knew where they lived or even if they dwelled in this existence. They seemed to come and go as they pleased but they did have some rules they followed, but no one knew what those rules were.

Any of the Kings could call forth a Joker for whatever reason, and they’d come no matter what. Nowadays the Kings usually consulted with their court before doing so, for it was either welcoming chaos into their court or some strange form of aid that may or may not prove beneficial, no one wanted to risk it. However as Alfred read the notes his curiosity began to grow.

“Jokers thrive on mischief and mayhem, they are neither friend or foe. A King may summon one at their own risk and the Joker can’t leave until the King is satisfied. They will answer any question for they know more about the world than any mortal, but will always give the answer in the form of a riddle.” Alfred sighed as he closed the book, downing the rest of his soda. “So ask a straight question and get a not so straight answer. Typical.”

Alfred had been warned over and over about the consequences of calling forth a Joker, that it wouldn’t do him any good... but what real harm could asking a question really do? 

He stood up and and approached the door to his office, peering out to make sure no one was walking around close by before closing and locking the door. Yao was probably busy making appointments for him, so he needn’t worry about the Jack suddenly appearing. The last thing he needed was for Yao to walk in on him whilst conversing with a Joker, he’d throw a fit or something. Alfred even pulled the curtains closed just in case, switching on a lamp to get some light in his now dimly lit office. 

Once he was certain he was alone, Alfred stood in the centre of his office, took a deep breath and placed his hand upon the mark upon his chest, hidden behind his clothes.

“Knock, knock.”

For a moment there was nothing but absolute silence until...

“Who’s there?”

Alfred looked over his shoulder to see a tall figure leaning against his desk, his red eyes staring straight at him and a mischievous grin spread across a pale face.

“The King of Spades,” answered Alfred, turning round to face the person.

The figure pushed himself up and casually strolled over to Alfred. “Well, well, once again a King from the Kingdom of Spades has requested my awesome self to come before them.” The Joker stopped and bowed before Alfred. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He had never physically seen a Joker before, but just like all the books had described them they looked practically human. This one was almost roughly his height, short silver hair and red eyes with a natural devilish grin. His clothes looked mismatched but at the same time they seemed to compliment each other, the mark of the Joker displayed upon his throat. He seemed to be full of himself, which was something Alfred could handle as long as he did it right.

“I have to say it’s been a while since my last visit,” said the Joker, “the Kingdom of Spades is looking fantastic. Love what you’ve done with the place, I mean it. Seriously though I’m not that well loved around here.”

Alfred tried to remain civil as he asked, “whys that then?”

The Joker made a “pffft” sound before he answered. “I got blamed for a plague that happened nearly a century ago. They had the gull to accuse me of some old killer cough? That ain’t my style, I would’ve made them laugh to death.” The Joker cackled away.

Alfred cleated his throat, not wanting the conversation to veer off the path he wanted. “I hear you Jokers know a lot of things,” said Alfred, planting his hands upon his hips to display his own confidence. 

The Joker cackled. “Of course we do, we know more than anyone and no one.” He gave Alfred a wicked look and those red eyes of his seemed to glow. “So what do you want to know?”

Alfred thought about his next words carefully. “Ok then Joker-...”

“Call me Gilbert,” insisted the Joker, daring to reach over and pat Alfred upon the cheek, Alfred himself leaning slightly away from it. “Let’s be friends, hey? Don’t want to be boring and formal, right Al? Can I call you Al?”

He didn’t really like or want to be called that, but he was dealing with a Joker so he might as well humour him. “Whatever floats your boat,” he replied.

Gilbert giggled. “Aw see, we’re becoming best buddies already.” He then jogged back over to the desk and hopped his rear end onto it. Crossing his legs the Joker leaned back and continued to grin. “So what are you after Al? The time? The weather? The same question every King of Spades seems to ask of me lately?”

“They all asked the same question?” That surprised Alfred, he assumed that the Kings of the past would ask different questions.

“Well they phrased them all differently but it wasn’t pretty much the same thing so they all got the same answer,” mused Gilbert. “Why don’t I have a Queen? Why is there no Queen? How come my Kingdom doesn’t have a Queen? Seriously though, getting asked the same thing over and over can’t get boring real fast.”

Alfred wasn’t sure if the answer was recorded in the book but he was going to have to ask anyway. “What did you tell them?”

Gilbert sighed and leaned back so he ended up laying on the desk. “I told them the Kingdom doesn’t need a Queen. I had to tell them over and over, because they didn’t believe me at first, even though I’m a Joker and I can’t exactly lie. Honestly Kings can be so rude sometimes.”

That couldn’t be it. “That’s it? That was the answer?” Alfred was expecting more.

“I mean who needs a Queen anyway,” stated the Joker suddenly, “all they do is stand around and bark orders when the King isn’t around. You’re lucky Al, you don’t have to put up with any of that crap. Don’t get me wrong though, the current Queen of Clubs is a looker and such a fiery personality for someone living in such a cold place.”

Alfred had to keep on track and pry further. “Do you know why there is no Queen?”

“I do,” giggled Gilbert as he sat up, “it’s because the Kingdom didn’t want one.”

“What does that even mean?” snapped Alfred, these answers not satisfying him at all.

“What I just told you,” chortled Gilbert, now laying down on his front with his head resting upon his arms and his feet swaying in the air. “You Kings of the Spade Kingdom aren’t that bright, are you?”

Alfred had to process all of that, unsure what to make of any of it. The Kingdom of Spades doesn’t need a Queen because the Kingdom didn’t want one? How could that be? He knew that his people were used to not having one, but surely his subjects did indeed desire to have a Queen rule alongside their King. Did they view a Queen as something like an extra prop that they no longer wanted around? Also why did they not need one? If they didn’t need a Queen then why did the other Kingdoms have their Queens? These questions only extended the list of questions he had for the Joker.

“Say Al,” said Gilbert suddenly, who was now standing right behind the pondering King, “there is something you might be curious to know about. The other Kings didn’t even know about it.”

That piqued Alfred’s interest and he turned to face the Joker. “And what would that be?”

Gilbert made a grin that would put a shark to shame. “Do you know who Maria Somerset was?” he asked.

“She was the last Queen of Spades,” answered Alfred, wondering where this was going.

“A fair woman she was,” exclaimed Gilbert dramatically, “her hair was as dark as the night, her figure was the perfect shape and her bosom would make anyone fall to her feet, begging her for a kiss or even a glance from her chocolate coloured eyes.” Gilbert fluttered his eyelashes at Alfred, giving the King a cheeky wink. “Hmm, better yet, how about you be the judge?”

Before Alfred could ask what he meant, the Joker suddenly morphed into a very different shape right before his eyes. His hair grew long and dark, his eyes softened and changed colour. His lips became red and full and a beauty spot appeared near his perfect nose. Instead of his bizarre clothing he was now was dressed in a long blue gown with a low rise that showed off a very plump set of breasts. The Joker no longer stood before him but in his place was a very attractive woman.

“What do you think?” cackled the woman before him, her voice not so woman like. “I rock this body pretty well, no?”

Alfred didn’t even know what to say. “How did-...”

“I do that?” The woman grinned in a familiar way. “I’m a Joker, you silly King, I can change my looks like you change your underwear. It lets me have all sorts of fun when no one notices.”

Alfred should of guess that the Jokers had powers like shape shifting, it would had been nice to get a warning though. It was so strange to look at the Joker now that he bore the appearance of the last Queen of Spades. He was used to seeing in her pictures and paintings but now here she was, alive and standing before him even though he knew that she wasn’t real. Gilbert, now looking like a sultry woman, trotted over to him and pulled on his arm, Alfred blushing furiously as his arm was getting too close to those perky breasts.

“Check them out, they’re really soft,” teased Gilbert, now pressing his false body up against the King. “Every single part of me is a perfect copy,” he said with another wink whilst moving his body in a seductive manner.

Pulling himself away from the shapeshifter and carefully pushing him back, Alfred quickly recomposed himself and tried to get the conversation back on track. The Joker was clearly trying to confuse him and distract him from what he wanted to know, and he was doing it in a way that was way too wrong. There was just something about mimicking a dead woman that felt really sickening to Alfred.

“You said you were going to tell me something the other Kings didn’t know,” snapped Alfred, folding his arms and trying not to look at that ridiculously perfect chest. “Now tell me what it is.”

Through his feminine form, Gilbert continued to smile and cackle away. “You see my dear Al, this lovely lady you’re looking at didn’t have such a lovely death. It was quite gruesome.”

Now that was indeed interesting and might possibly have something to do with the mystery of the missing Queen. Hundreds of thoughts began to wander through Alfred’s mind as he wondered how the last Queen met her end. “So... she was murdered?”

“Nope,” replied Gilbert as he curled a finger around a strand of his dark hair.

“Had a accident then?” guessed Alfred.

“Nuh uh.”

“Caught a disease and became deathly ill?”

“Nada.”

“Then what?” snapped Alfred, seemingly forgetting who he was dealing with.

“Tell you what? I’ll give you a re-enactment,” declared Gilbert with a wink. He then began to walk around the room, his head stuck up high and moving his arms gracefully through the air. He was clearly having way too much fun with this. “One day, whilst walking with her handmaidens, this poor woman suddenly clutched her heart and she screamed like a banshee.” Gilbert mimicked everything he said, clutching his own chest. “Her smooth skin began to dry up and her perfect flesh began to rot, her silky hair turned white and her pristine teeth fell from her mouth. She looked like a corpse but she continued to scream until at last her heart stopped beating and her body shrivelled up until her bones snapped her insides liquified.” Gilbert glanced over, noticing how lost Alfred looked. “Hard to believe, right?”

“I’ll say,” murmured Alfred, trying to envision that graphic detail as well as wonder what could’ve caused such a gruesome death. “I can’t even imagine it.”

“Really?” Gilbert then slapped his own brow. “Well then I better give you a proper re-enactment!”

Before Alfred could ask, Gilbert let out a shrill ear shattering scream and clutched his chest with one hand whilst reaching towards the heavens with the other. With each passing second the scream grew louder and louder until Alfred was forced to cover his ears. Just as he was about to command the Joker to stop, his eyes widened in horror as the beautiful woman Gilbert had transformed into began to change. Her fingers began snapping and curling inwards, the nails dropping off and thick oozing dark blood dribbled from her hands. Her skin began to rip exposing the rotten flesh underneath, the stench was unbearable and large amounts of pus oozed from the open wounds. The scream became gargled but was still incredibly loud as her face began to sink, the eyes rolling into her head and rotting before Alfred’s own. That beautiful black hair turned grey and matted, large handfuls of it falling from her head along with some flesh, and for a second Alfred was convinced he saw her skull. Her bones snapped so loudly it made Alfred cringe, watching in horror as she lost her balance and fell over and a puddle of black blood spilled out from every single orifice on her body. She continued screaming and screaming until at last she fell silent and still.

When it was all over Alfred lowered his hands from his ears and took a cautionary step forward. The rotten corpse that laid upon the floor was completely still and Alfred dry heaved when the horrid stench filled his nostrils. Taking out a handkerchief and holding it over his nose and mouth, Alfred dared to take another step closer. It was a ghastly thing to look at. Only a second ago it was the body of a woman with unsurpassed beauty and now it looked like something from a horror movie. Things like this terrified him but he took another step closer and peered down at it. It didn’t even look like a person anymore, it was just skin and bones. Was this truly how the last Queen of Spades died?

Just as he was about to step back, the corpse suddenly snapped it’s neck and stared up at him with hollow eyes. “Pretty gruesome right?”

The shock of the corpse suddenly speaking in a sandpaper like voice made Alfred cry out in shock and he stumbled backwards, falling onto his ass. His heart was beating like mad as he watched the corpse stand back up.

“Too graphic?” Then the corpse vanished and in its place stood the Joker, laughing away as he stared down at the King. “I heard you were a afraid of ghouls and foul creatures, but I didn’t think I’d make you fall over in fright,” cackled Gilbert.

Alfred struggled to get his breathing under control and forced himself back up. He should’ve known that the Joker would play him for a fool, and he was done playing. “I didn’t call you so you can play your games,” he shouted. “I called you do you can give me answers.”

Gilbert ceases his laughter and stared at the King with a somewhat creepy looking smile. “I gave you answers Al, but you have been asking the wrong questions.” The Joker than began to slowly circle around Alfred, his eyes locked onto him. “The Kingdom doesn’t need a Queen. The Kingdom didn’t want one. You witnessed a death that no one knows about. I’ve given you all the answers but you don’t know what to do with them.” He then stopped directly in front of Alfred. “The problem is that you don’t really care about these answers... you want to know about that garden.”

Upon this made Alfred flinch. “You... know about that?”

“Of course I do,” replied Gilbert, wiping back his hair, “you visit a garden where you made an interesting friend, but no one believes you. I do because I know about it. There is nothing I don’t know about.”

Seeing this golden opportunity before him Alfred could not help but ask, “where am I going? I mean, why do I keep visiting this place? Where is it?”

Gilbert tutted and raised his finger. “Now, now,” he said, “all these questions have but one simple answer.”

Alfred held his breath as Gilbert spoke.

“You don’t go anywhere.”

Alfred blinked. “W-What?”

Gilbert merely shrugged. “That’s my answer. You don’t go anywhere.”

“I’m... obviously going somewhere,” argued Alfred, watching as Gilbert nodded in agreement, “So where am I going?”

“Like I said, you don’t going anywhere.”

This was getting him no where. “Well then... who is this Arthur guy I keep meeting?” demanded Alfred, hoping that would shed some light on the situation.

“A nobody,” replied the Joker. “A non existent nobody.”

“B-but this place, the garden and him... it is real, right?” Alfred’s head was hurting.

“It is.”

“But you just said... ARGH!” This didn’t make any sense. These weren’t answers, these were words meant to cause him confusion. The Joker knew about the garden, he hinted that he was aware of Arthur and that no one believed him. So what kind of answers were these? These weren’t answers, they were lies. He should’ve known that summoning the Joker was an absolute waste of time, all it did was give him a headache.

“Do you take me for a fool, dammit!” Alfred now really wanted to punch him. “You said you had the answer!”

Gilbert tutted again. “Or maybe you’re asking the wrong questions,” he stated sounding almost serious. “Besides, I’d be more concerned about that door if I were you.”

The door? The one from his dream? How did he know about that? Before he could even attempt to ask, somebody knocked at his office door and he heard Yao’s voice call out to him. He sounded worried, most likely from the scream Gilbert made when he was parading around as that corpse.

Alfred groaned as he really didn’t want Yao to see him with this Joker and he had enough of being treated like a fool. He glared Gilbert and said, “I’m done with you, now go away.”

Gilbert politely bowed with his signature grin and before he vanished he said one last thing. “You better deal with that door before it comes off it’s hinges. The poor little maiden is weary after keeping it locked for so long.”

Finding himself alone in his office, Alfred found that he was just as lost as he ever was and he didn’t know where to look for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured how else to summon a Joker than with a Knock Knock joke?


	10. Chapter 10

When Alfred went to bed that night he was terrified he’d have a terrible nightmare and he was correct to think so. After what the accursed Joker showed him, he was afraid he’d never have a peaceful night ever again. He kept a dim nightlight on but as he laid in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, that horrible imagery continued to plague his thoughts. Trying to get it all out of his head Alfred tried reading funny comics, watched comedic adventure films, he even tried to read a long boring book about the past conflict between the four Kingdoms but the moment he closed his eyes to try and sleep, he always saw that gruesome thing.

“Dammit,” whined Alfred as he tossed and turned.

It was far too disturbing for him to even think about at the moment. He didn’t even want to know the reason why the last Queen of Spades died like that, he just didn’t want to see it again, even in his dreams. He tried humming a jolly tune to himself, read a joke book and forced himself to laugh, he even ate an entire tub of his favourite ice cream hoping to brain freeze it away, but it was still there at the back of his mind as if to taunt him. Why the hell did he summon that wretched Joker? 

As he stared up at the ceiling he did try and think of something to take his mind off it all. He had the tea date with that noble’s daughter coming up next week. Supposedly she was the top bachelorette in the Spade Kingdom, and apparently she even had a lunch date with the King of Diamonds. There was also that dessert taste testing coming up, he was looking forward to that. Yao has taken care of some overdue work for him, so that was nice. He heard that the King if Hearts got a new dog. In fact a lot of people said that the King of Hearts bore a similar appearance to one of the Jokers-.... dammit.

Alfred groaned as he slapped his head in a vain effort to get rid of that wretched image of a woman turning into a rotting corpse before his eyes. If didn’t know any better he’d think that very Joker was watching him right now, laughing his head off. The clock ticked on and even though his eyelids were getting heavy he couldn’t nod off to sleep. He just continued to stare upwards until his eyes ached and his throat felt dry.

By the time he thought it was ok to sleep, the birds were already singing and the sun was glaring through the window. He could hear the maids and butlers move about outside his room, and then his door opening as a steward waltzed in with a tray of juice.

“Good morning, your majesty,” sung the cheery steward as he poured a glass of orange juice and placed it on the bedside table. “Freshly squeezed, just how you like it.”

Alfred eyes aches as he moved them to look at the glass. “Coffee,” he moaned.

The steward seemed surprised by this. “Coffee? You prefer a glass of orange juice first thing in the morning, your majesty, is that not so?”

Glaring up at the steward, Alfred repeated his command. “Coffee... I need coffee... lots and lots of coffee.”

The steward said no more and dashed off, leaving the orange juice behind. With a weary arm Alfred tried grabbing the glass, bringing to his face and attempted to drink it. It spilled down his throat as well his chin, staining his pyjamas and bedsheets. He didn’t even have the energy to put the glass down, he just dropped it unto the duvet and forced himself out of bed.

“This is going to be a long day,” he groaned as he made his way to the bathroom, missing the door and walking into the wall. “A very long day.”

And indeed it was. Yao took no pity on him and accused Alfred of staying up all night play video games or something, declaring that Alfred would not be allowed to rest until he had finished his work. He drank at least five cups of coffee during breakfast but he was still feeling fatigued and craved his bed, but feared it at the same time. In his tired state Alfred could barely hold a pen and half the time he couldn’t hear what Yao was saying. He walked like a sick man, constantly walking into things or other people and the worst thing was the morning had barely ended.

After Yao made him re-sign some documents, he temporarily left the tired King along, promising he’d return after dropping the completed forms. Now that he was alone, Alfred stumbled over to the jug of coffee and poured himself a cup. He slurped it down but the caffeine didn’t seem to affect him, he was still desperate to sleep. He glanced over at the couch, the softness of those cushions looked so tempting and inviting.

“Just... just five minutes,” he told himself as he climbed on, laying down on his back and releasing a low moan as he found how wonderfully comfortable the couch was. “Five... minutes...” he yawned as his eyes closed and the darkness came.

————————————

Someone was calling him.

Opening his eyes Alfred slowly sat up and looked around, seeing an unfamiliar before him. He was still sitting upon the couch he had fallen asleep on, but his location had vastly changed. No longer was he in his stuffy office, he was boxed in a small area surrounded by tall green hedges. The sky above him was dark and cloudy, and there was a strong wind in the air, picking up fallen leaves and tossing them about.

“Where the hell am I now?” Pushing himself off the couch, he looked around for an exit but saw none. “Can I go through one day without waking up somewhere new!?” He looked upwards and debated about scaling the hedges or even if they were climbable.

_“My King.”_

Spinning around, Alfred quickly scanned the area as he was certain who ever spoke was right behind him. That voice was crystal clear so he was certain that he heard it and it wasn’t in his head. Before he could even attempt to call out to whoever it was, a section of the green wall parted and revealed an exit. The voice called out again and it was coming from that direction.

“Standing here isn’t going to do me any good,” sighed Alfred, and cautiously ventured forward.

Peering out he found a long passageway with the walls still made up of tall shrubbery. There was some twists and turns in some sections, making Alfred realise he must be inside a maze or something. How did he wind up here? Did the palace even have a maze? He heard the voice again, coming from his left and seeing that he had no other choice Alfred followed it, hoping it would guide him somewhere like out of here.

He followed the voice through the maze as best he could, walking through all the twists and turns in the hopes it would lead him to an exit. Everywhere looked the same and at one point he thought he had already walked through the area he was in. There was nothing he could as a marker and he was starting to think he’d never find a way out. As he continued to venture onwards he tried calling out to whoever was calling him, but received no reply and he only just realised how creepy this place was, his desire to find an exit grew great.

Taking a quick break he paused in the middle of a crossroad, looking down the three paths he could take. The voice seemed to have stopped and Alfred wasn’t certain which way to go, they all looked the same.

“If this is a dream, please wake me up,” he pleaded, hoping someone would hear him.

As he leaned against one of the walls and groaned in dread at his current situation, he then picked up on a very faint sound. It was far off but he was certain he could hear it. Pushing himself up he followed it, desperate now to find something in this accursed maze. As he got closer and closer to the source of the sound, he could now make out what it was.

“Singing?”

It wasn’t just a single person, it sounded like a small group of people singing, the song itself sounding cheerful in a somewhat dark way. In fact as he got closer and closer the voices sounded like the belonged to very young children. There were so many questions now flooded his head, the dam that held them all back collapsed a long time ago. He rounded a corner and came across a puzzling sight that caused him to readjust his glasses.

In a large area Alfred spotted four children, holding hands and dancing around a small tree, completely oblivious to the fact they were lost in a giant maze, or maybe they weren’t lost. They giggled and laughed as they sang their song, their young faces filled with giddiness and delight as if they didn’t have a single care in the world.

 _“Ring-a-ring o' roses,_  
_A pocket full of poises,_  
_A-tishoo, A-tishoo,_  
_We all fall down!”_

The children fell down, laughing as they did before pulling themselves back up and starting the song over again.

 _“The King is in his castle,_  
_The Queen begins to weep,_  
_A-tishoo, A-tishoo,_  
_We all will leapt!”_

On and on they kept singing, repeating the same lyrics over and over as if they were the only words they knew. The rhyme sounded familiar but Alfred couldn’t quite place where he heard it before. Alfred couldn’t deny that coming across four children singing an almost creepy song inside a lonely maze was almost disturbing. This whole thing had warning signs flashing right in his face... still they were the only children, what harm could talking to them do?

As Alfred carefully approached them, he raised his hand to wave and said, “hey kids, could you help me out?”

The moment the children were made aware of his presence, they suddenly shrieked and ran off, fleeing through an opening in the wall behind them.

“Hey wait,” pleaded Alfred, chasing after them. He crawled through the opening and spotted the children vanishing round another corner. “I just want to talk!”

The children did not answer him and continued to run with fear in their cries, leaving Alfred no choice but to follow. He could only assume that he frightened them some how given that he suddenly appeared before them, though he didn’t find himself intimidating and if he wanted answers he was going to have to follow them. If he was lucky they would lead him out of here, or they would tire out from all the running and allow a chance to explain himself. He followed them deeper and deeper into the maze, rounding corners and twisting through sharp turns. Alfred was determined not to loose sight of the children, but they were quite fast for a bunch of kids. He tried calling out to them, insisting that he wasn’t a threat but they ignored him and continued to run further and further in. Why were they running from him, and where were they going?

He skidded through another opening and spotted them running round a corner. Pushing himself Alfred chased after them, running round that very corner but came to a sudden halt when he saw what awaited him. The children were nowhere to be seen, and there was no other way out of this particular passage and right in front of him at the end of the passage was a large silver door.

Alfred took one step back after recognising that door. It was that terrible door he dreamed about before, the one with that horrible presence behind it. It was covered in those rusted chains and worn out locks, however there was no loud banging and no cries of anguish coming from it.

Looking over his shoulder Alfred stared back at the endless maze before looking back at the door. It was silent for whatever reason and he couldn’t sense anything dangerous behind it. Maybe this was an opportunity to learn more about it, and though he was terrified of the presence he felt before, Alfred knew he had to discover the truth no matter what. Swallowing the large lump in his throat, Alfred slowly and carefully approached the door, ready to turn and flee just in case. The closer he got the more it seemed to loom over him, as if it were about to fall on top of him. He stepped closer and closer until he could almost touch the handle. Alfred had no intention of opening it, but he did carefully place his ear against it.

There was silence. Alfred could hear nothing but the heavy beating of his heart and his own breath. Maybe there was nothing behind it? Maybe the horrible presence had-

**BANG!**

Alfred yelped and fell over, staring up at the door in terror as something behind it began to viscously pound against it, rattling the chains and the locks. He could hear unholy sounds coming behind it, as if hell had opened up and the tortured souls of the damned were trying to break down the door. Dragging himself away, Alfred eventually pushed himself back up and ran. He ran as far away from that door as fast as he could. He took lefts and rights, he didn’t care where he went just as long as he could put enough distance between himself and that door.

Once he was certain he got far enough he stopped to catch his breath, wheezing and gasping as his heart continued to rapidly beat in his chest. Just what the hell was that door? Did those children go through it and if they didn’t, where did they go? Maybe they were an illusion or something.

Alfred felt sick and he felt tired. There was just so much going on, so many things running through his mind, and it was getting too much. First it was voices, then it was a magically transporting to a garden where a some man lived and no one noticed or believed him. Then the nightmare about the banging door, the little girl warning him about the presence behind it. Next it was the mystery of the missing Queen, the Joker showing him that horrid imagery of how the last Queen died and now he was in that blasted maze with creepy children singing creepy songs and that damn door coming back, and on top of everything else he was trying to run a Kingdom. He didn’t understand anything. There was so much going on and he didn’t know what to do.

“I want to get out of here,” he heaved, feeling trapped, feeling the walls closing in. “Let me out of here!” 

_“My King.”_

Alfred flinched when something grasped onto his shoulder. Slowly peering down he saw a hand gripping his jacket. A rotten, boney hand covered in filth and grime. His eyes slowly followed the hand up to an arm and the body it was attached to. His voice became trapped in his throat when he saw what looked like a rotten walking corpse, reaching out for him and heaving heavily as if it was trying to breathe.

 _“My King,”_ it said, its voice raspy as if it’s throat was made of sandpaper. _“My King, why did you do this to me?”_

Slapping the hand off of him, Alfred tried to run away but his legs had become heavy and he had no control over them. He ended up falling over, and desperately tried to crawl away from the approaching monstrosity.

 _“Why was I cursed for your crime?”_ screamed the corpse, stumbling towards him with outreached arms. _“Why must I suffer? I did as you asked. I was your precious Queen.”_

“Go away,” cried Alfred, his blue eyes filled with terror as the corpse was almost upon him. “I didn’t do anything to you!”

 _“Free me from this pain,”_ howled the corpse, it’s body becoming more grotesque. _“My King, free me!”_

Alfred shielded his face with his arms and screamed. “Leave me alone,” he shouted. “Leave me alone! Go away! Go away!”

“Alfred?”

Another voice suddenly called out to him.

“Alfred? Wake up, wake up now.”

Everything felt as if it had become still and there was silence. He no longer heard the heaving corpse or the wind in that horrid maze. Instead he heard the sound of birds.

“Alfred?”

Slowly parting his arms, Alfred peered up and stared up into a pair of green eyes staring down at him.

“...Arthur?”

Arthur was kneeling over him, his face full of concern. “Alfred, are you alright? You looked like you were having a nightmare.”

Sitting up Alfred looked around and found he was no longer in that maze but was in Arthur’s garden. The colourful flowers surrounded him were comforting, the birds sung sweet and calming tunes, the sun shined down and made the garden light up in an enchanting way. It was peaceful and safe.

Looking up at Arthur he had to ask, “how did I get here?”

Arthur appeared surprised. “Like you always do; out of thin air,” he replied, “though you were fast asleep when I found you. I couldn’t exactly kick you awake so I left you alone. However you started shouting in your sleep, so I kept calling you out until you woke up.”

Alfred looked around once more to make certain he was in safe. There was no banging door, there were no singing children, and there was no walking corpse chasing him. He was safe. With a weary sigh he fell onto his back and tried his best to relax, but his head continued to ache with so many things happening at once.

“Are you alright?” 

Looking up at Arthur, who still appeared concerned, Alfred could not help but say, “no.” Alfred was beyond alright, and he didn’t know what to do.

Arthur sighed as he stared down at the worn out man. “I can see that now, you have dark rings under your eyes. You’ve clearly not slept well.”

With a groan Alfred nodded.

“Something kept you up?” guessed Arthur.

Alfred nodded again.

“And it’s making you stress out again?”

Once more Alfred nodded.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur readjusted himself and leaned a little closer towards the troubled man. “Come on now, you’ve talked to me before and it seemed to help? Tell me what’s the matter.” 

Hearing Arthur’s soft voice and seeing how gentle his eyes were, Alfred wanted to talk to him in the hopes he could say something to make him feel better. Their past conversations had always seemed to make all of his troubles melt away, replacing all those bad thoughts with good ones. Alfred still wasn’t certain if Arthur could handle all of his troubles, but as he learned before; bottling it all up wouldn’t do him any good.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate,” he admitted.

Arthur didn’t seem to care. “Do tell.”

So Alfred took a deep relaxing breath and shared his troubles. He kept it brief and simple, stating how he was constantly working hard but all these smaller problems kept interfering and making his life and work difficult. One of them was the mystery of why he was coming here, stating that he didn’t mind it so much but it was constantly on his mind, and he wanted to know how and why he was visiting Arthur without anyone noticing his absence. Next he spoke of the dream he had of a little girl leading him to a locked door, where he could feel a horrid presence trying to get out. Then of how he witnessed a re-enacted death that was too grotesque to describe and that it scared him so much he couldn’t sleep. Now he had another dream of eerie children singing songs in a maze with a walking corpse chasing after him. It was just one thing after another and it was stressing him out.

Arthur listened and most of the stuff Alfred said seem to fly over his head. One thing was perfectly clear to him and before Alfred could say anymore, Arthur raised a single finger to silence him.

“You have too much on your mind,” stated Arthur, “far too much, especially if you got important work going on and it’s affecting your sleep.”

Alfred already knew that. “But I can’t just ignore all this stuff,” he insisted, “I don’t know what any of it all means but I know it must mean something, and I can’t just ignore it all.”

Arthur nodded, folding his arms and tried to think of a solution. “Its common for people to have a lot on their mind, work and worries aren’t the best things to have but they’re manageable. I think you just need to organise it all.”

“That’s it?” Alfred was hoping for more.

“I’m not finished, idiot,” snapped Arthur, annoyed that he had been interrupted, “You need to prioritise these little problems so they all don’t turn into big problems. One thing at a time, because if you try doing it all at once you’re just going to drive yourself into an early grave. I don’t know what any of those things you spoke about are, but if you want to figure them out then solve them individually and try not to do it all at once. Clear?”

Alfred nodded, listening to the advice as if it were a vital medicine he needed to take to save his life. It was decent advice and probably something he should’ve done ages ago, but he was still feeling like crap both mentally and physically. 

“Right, now that we got that out of the way,” declared Arthur suddenly, “lets get that bad stuff out of your mind.”

With the way Arthur was rubbing his hands and staring at him with such intense eyes, Alfred almost thought that Arthur was going to cast a spell on him. If he was he hoped it would work. 

Scooting a little closer, Arthur sat cross legged on the grass and said, “do you have a favourite flower? Or maybe, what’s your favourite season? Mine is Spring obviously, it brings out the beauty of my garden.”

That came out of no where. “What’s this about?” muttered Alfred, “I thought you were going to get the bad stuff out of my mind.”

Arthur sighed. “The best way to push all that bad stuff out of mind is to talk about good stuff. I’ve been reading a book on good conversation starters and in order to get one in a good mood is to talk about pleasant things that stir up good memories, thus putting you in a better mood and getting all the negative thoughts out of your mind.” Once again Arthur appeared smug about himself. “So do you have a favourite author? Or maybe a certain type of food you like?”

So in other words he wanted to have a jolly good conversation about happy stuff? It wasn’t exactly what Alfred had in mind but as he took in Arthur’s suggestion he thought that maybe it could work, maybe talking about good stuff would get rid of all these horrid thoughts. In fact this might be a golden opportunity to learn more about Arthur, for he still knew very little about him despite all of his previous visits.

“Well... I like burgers,” answered Alfred, a greasy cheeseburger being the first thing that popped into his head.

“Burgers?” Arthur tilted his head in a look that was either disgust or confusion. 

“What, you’ve never had one?” That shocked Alfred. Burgers wasn’t exactly a fancy dish but it was still a favourite of his. “They taste great when they got the right cheese and crunchy pickles, and as long as the buns are soft and the meat is juicy, they taste out of this world.”

Arthur shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like my cup of tea,” he muttered, “I actually prefer roasts and pastry dishes. I’ll confess that I like battered fish but that’s more of a guilty pleasure.”

“Battered fish!?” Alfred stuck his tongue out at the very thought. “I tried that once and it was bland as hell. How can you like stuff like that!?”

“It’s an acquired taste,” argued Arthur, puffing his cheeks a little, “and it sounds a lot healthier than these burgers.”

“Ha, I’ll take burgers any day,” snorted Alfred, his mouth drooling a little over the thought of a pile of freshly cooked cheeseburgers. “Down it all with some soda and you got yourself a complete meal.”

“I think I’ll stick with tea,” huffed Arthur, the whole topic seemed to be putting him off food almost entirely.

It was almost amusing to see how Arthur reacted to food he wasn’t fond of and Alfred actually chuckled a little. Their conversation continued and began to evolve into different subjects. They talked about their favourite sweets, with Arthur liking scones with clotted cream and jam whilst Alfred confessed that he pretty much liked anything with sugar. Then they talked about their favourite books, their favourite songs, and even their favourite type of weather. Alfred was surprised to learn that Arthur liked a gentle rain on a still day, as it not only helped kept his garden hydrated but also the sound of the water hitting the leaves was soothing for him, and surprising still was that he actually like upbeat and hardcore music. Alfred told Arthur that he preferred hot days when the sky was completely blue with a gentle breeze in the air. It reminded him of a holiday in his youth and he told Arthur about the time he went to a beautiful white beach in the Diamond Kingdom whilst visiting a friend.

He told Arthur how he built a large castle out of sand, his swim in the crystal blue water with large manta rays, the taste of the local fruit that was offered to him. He talked about how he almost got burnt by the sun, when he explored a sea cave in the hopes he’d find treasure and how he watched the sunset, the sky looked like it was on fire and he watched the sun until it vanished beyond the sea. He confessed that in his youth he thought the sun was just taking a bath before it went to bed, and upon hearing that made Arthur laugh. Alfred told Arthur everything he loved about beaches and the sea itself, filled with hundreds of creatures who hid beneath the waves and his hope that one day he’d see a whale and make friends with it.

Alfred talked and talked until he realised that he had been doing all the talking and barely gave Arthur a chance to get a word in. Feeling a little bit guilty he turned to Arthur and asked, “have you ever been to a beach?”

“No, I haven’t,” replied Arthur with a small smile. “I haven’t even seen the sea.”

“Seriously!? You should go one day,” insisted Alfred, “laying down on the sand whilst listening to the crashing waves is the most relaxing thing anyone could do.”

Arthur chuckled a little as he pushed some of his hair out of his face. “I might... one day,” he murmured.

Alfred decided to veer the conversation off a slightly different path. “So did you grow up here or something?” he asked.

“What? Here?” Arthur snorted and shook his head. “No, no, I came from a small town in the middle of the countryside.”

“Oh, so your family live there?” pried Alfred.

“No, no family,” answered Arthur, “I was dumped on the doorstep of an orphanage when I was very young.”

“Oh...” Alfred wasn’t expecting to hear that. “So I guess you had some friends there growing up?”

“No,” replied Arthur with a sigh. “I... scared people. They didn’t like the fact that I was talking to things they couldn’t see.” Arthur began to drag a finger in a patch of dirt nearby. “The children thought I was a freak and the adults thought I was a troubled child. I wasn’t really wanted there so once I was old enough I took off on my own. Spent most of my youth living in forests, only going into towns to sell firewood and purchase necessities. It wasn’t that bad though I was... well, I craved to have some sort of companionship. Faeries and spirits don’t often stay in the same spot for too long.”

The conversation took a sudden sad turn, and Alfred desperately tried to get it back on a happier note for Arthur’s sake. “Well you live here now,” he said with a smile, “you got a cosy room and this amazing garden. You’ve really done well for yourself.”

That seemed to make Arthur smile but he said nothing. Instead he wiped the dirt off his hand and with a gentle huff he stood up. “So, are you feeling better?”

Upon getting asked that Alfred only just realised that he was feeling a little better. He was still tired from the lack of sleep but other than that he felt much better mentally. “I do feel a lot better,” he confessed with a yawn.

“Good,” said Arthur with a smile, “but you do need some more sleep. A good sleep does wonders for the mind, and do remember what I told you. I don’t want you coming back here in a foul mood.”

Alfred nodded as he laid back on the grass and yawned once more. He noticed Arthur was about to walk off and without even thinking he blurted out, “could you stay? Just till I nod off?”

Arthur was taken aback by that request and as Alfred stared up at him with puppy dog eyes, he couldn’t find the will to say no. “Fine, fine,” he muttered as he sat back down next to Alfred. “You’re such a baby.”

As he nestled into the grass and his eyelids grew heavy, Alfred said, “hey Arthur... thanks for all that. You’re such a good talker and problem solver...”

There was a moment of silence before Arthur responded with, “you’re welcome.”

Resting his head into his arms, Alfred tried to focus on Arthur as he sat nearby but his vision was starting to blur. “Arthur... we’re friends, right?” 

Alfred’s eyes were now shut and he was slowly slipping into a deep sleep but he did hear Arthur say, “I... guess we are.”

“Good,” sighed Alfred with a smile and he succumbed to the well needed slumber, almost certain he could hear Arthur sing to him as he slept in utter bliss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all enjoying this and I would love to hear some feedback :)


	11. Chapter 11

Munching away on some cookies, Alfred walked back and forth between the whiteboards he had placed in his office, all of them filled with all the information he had on everything he was going through. He had to order a couple more boards as he was running out of space on the last one and purchased a few some more markers after the last one dried up. He had taken Arthur’s advice and prioritised everything, with his running of the Kingdom his top priority.

“No question, Kingdom comes first, that’s an absolute, number one, top of the list priority,” declared Alfred as he munched down on a cinnamon flavoured cookie. “Now then, next on my list of priorities would be... hmmm.”

Alfred wanted to pick Arthur and his garden but as far as he was concerned it wasn’t exactly causing him any problems. It did worry him that he was just popping over there without anyone noticing, but he came to realise it wasn’t exactly doing him or anyone any harm. In fact visiting Arthur was making him feel a lot better about himself and he enjoyed his company. He actually liked the idea of having his own personal friend. It was still a mystery but a mystery that didn’t need to be solved for now.

“I’ll just move him to the bottom of the list,” decided Alfred, “so next on my list would be... the missing Queen? Or that door?”

He had all sorts of research on the missing Queen thanks to his predecessors, even though none of it seem to point to a solid answer, but he did have some new knowledge thanks to the Joker. He had noted that the last Queen died an unknown and horrible death, and according to the official records she supposedly died from a heart attack. It was possibly a cover up but the records were never meant to hold lies, however Jokers never lied either.

Still that door in his dreams made him worry. It he had seen it twice now and even the Joker warned him about it. He wasn’t sure if it was an actual door or a metaphor for something, but Alfred could feel it in his bones that the door was holding something terrible back. He recorded everything he knew so far, including the little girl and those creepy children who ran away from him. Perhaps it would be best if the door became his second priority and the missing Queen his third, he could always change it if the situation demanded it.

He stood back to look at all the data and it still appeared to look like the ramblings of a lunatic. “I probably still don’t have all the information I need,” muttered Alfred as he placed the cap on his marker, “and I’m not asking that Joker again. I’ll just have to figure this out as it comes I suppose.”

It was all he could do unfortunately. There was no one he could talk to about any of this without them raising an eyebrow, and Yao was already accusing him of letting his imagination run wild. Until he actually got more information he couldn’t act, so for now he was going to have to wait and hope another clue would come along. It wasn’t as if he could just go and look for one right now, he had some important work to do today.

The usual workload was dumped on him; documents that required his attention, paperwork that needed signing, meetings with officials from all around his Kingdom, and updating his schedule for the upcoming dinner party. It was in three weeks and according to Yao everything was on track. The rooms were being carefully prepared, the chef Yao hired would be arriving soon, and the only thing they truly had to worry about was small trivial things that could easily be remedied. Then of course there was that dessert tasting thing Alfred was looking forward to, but that wasn’t on till tomorrow night and the sweet craving King could not wait. 

Throughout the day Alfred did look out for any clue to his investigations, but he remembered what Arthur told him and focused on his duties first. Alfred could only hope something would come along soon and shed some light.

“Alright, that’s everything done for the day,” announced Yao as he put his folder away. “One last thing, I arranged your lunch date with Lady Isabelle Hamilton at the The Spring Avenue Restaurant. It’s in two days so please don’t forget.”

“Uh-huh,” replied Alfred, going through his own notes.

“And I know I don’t need to tell you this but please save some room in your stomach for tomorrow night,” pleaded Yao, smirking a little after realising he didn’t have to worry about that so much. “The students will arrive in the morning for a tour and begin prepping their dishes in the afternoon. They’ll be presented to you in the evening.”

“Right, right,” confirmed Alfred, his head still down.

Yao raised an eyebrow upon realising something else had his King’s attention. He glanced over at the whiteboards that Alfred had erected, all of them containing bizarre notes that made little sense. Things about a garden, an evil door, and some notes about the missing Queen. Yao could only assume that Alfred was conducting his own private research into the mystery about the Queen of Spades, but all that information he had recorded looked like the ramblings of a madman. He decided not to pry as Alfred was working hard on his royal duties, he just hoped that it would stay that way. It was all possible some bizarre hobby of his to take his mind of work.

“If you need me I’ll be in my office,” stated Yao, taking off to leave his King be.

“Later,” responded Alfred, his head still down.

With his Jack gone and with his workload almost complete, Alfred looked at the clock to find that it was still early in the afternoon. Looking back at the whiteboards Alfred sighed for he still wasn’t sure where to start looking for the information he needed for any of it to make sense. He then looked out of the window at the cityscape and Alfred thought about taking a walk amongst his citizens. Maybe something out there would point him in the right direction and at the same time he could enjoy a walk.

It wasn’t uncommon for a member of royalty to walk the streets of their Kingdoms, though they still had to be followed by specialist guards for their own safety. It seemed like a bit like an overkill since Kings, Queens and Jacks could take care of themselves as they had skills and powers no other human could wield, but it never hurt to be safe and it gave the members of royalty some peace of mind. Alfred himself enjoyed walking through the streets of his Kingdom, greeting his people with a smile and a laugh, seeing the sights up close, and getting his own personal shopping done, and that’s exactly what he did that afternoon. He chatted to some of his people, entertained a few children who followed him around for a while, explored some of the historic parts of the city, and stopped by certain shops to purchase items that caught his interest.

It was nice and it was getting Alfred’s mind off some of his problems, but every so often he’d see something that would remind him of certain things. Seeing some children singing nursery rhymes whilst holding hands reminded him of his nightmare in that maze. Noticing an advertisement for a film about a corpse coming back to life for revenge reminded him of that blasted thing the Joker showed him. Even seeing a street entertainer dressed up like a jester reminded him of the Joker thus reminding him of the corpse. It left a foul thought in his mind and to try and get it off his mind he walked over to the nearest bakery and bought a cake covered in icing, hoping it would distract him. Like Arthur said; good thoughts to cancel out the bad thoughts.

As he stepped out of the bakery after shoving the iced bun down his throat, something colourful caught his attention and he looked across the street to see a florist shop. Suddenly his mind was filled with thoughts about Arthur’s garden and he strolled over to admire the colourful arrangement of bouquets and exotic plants. There were all sorts of flowers from dahlias to asters, each one a different colour and each one with their own wonderful scent, and all arranged in beautiful bouquets.

“I wonder if Arthur grows any of these?” pondered Alfred, recognising some but not recognising the others. 

He couldn’t help but stroke some of the petals, and leaned in a little closer to inhale their sweet scent. It suddenly dawned on him that he couldn’t smell the flowers in Arthur’s Garden, he couldn’t smell anything whilst he was over there. Alfred wondered what it would smell like, all those different scents filling the air. It probably smelled a lot like this flower shop but fresher, maybe? Arthur put so much care into his garden so it probably carried a far fresher and sweeter scent.

“Flowers for your special someone?”

Alfred jumped to attention when a young woman, who must’ve owned the shop, approached him. “Say what now?” he stuttered.

The florist smiled sweetly and held a bouquet of blue and purple flowers. “You looked like you were thinking about someone special,” she giggled, “I recommend the Azure Queen bouquet, it lets them know you’re thinking about them always.”

Alfred blinked and it took a minute for him to realise what she was on about. He looked back and forth between the florist and the bouquet she was holding. 

A special someone? 

A romantic looking bouquet? 

Always thinking of them? 

Arthur? 

His face went completely red and he shook his head furiously. “W-What? Him? My special s-someone? Not a chance,” he stated with a nervous laugh. “No, no, he’s j-just a friend.” He started walking backwards out of the shop. “Love the flowers, n-not him, just the flowers! B-bye now!”

Alfred left the shop as fast as he could and started walking back towards the palace as quickly as he could. He could still feel the heat upon his cheeks and the quickening of his pulse. His thoughts were now a mess and he was having a difficult time putting them together.

“Arthur? A special someone? No, no, no,” he laughed, trying to make it sound like a joke. “No, he’s just a friend who lives in some garden, I don’t like him that way, no way, hahahaha. He’s just a friend, yep, a good friend, nothing more and nothing less!”

During his entire walk back to the palace, he continued to ramble to himself about the ludicrous idea that he saw Arthur as someone he fancied. Arthur was still a mystery to him, and the only things he knew about him was that he lived in some fancy stone house with a garden surrounded by large stone walls where he couldn’t touch him. He got violent and scary when threatened, acted smug when certain subjects came up, could apparently see faeries and spirits so he was clearly not right in the head, and constantly treated Alfred like a child. What was there to like about him? He didn’t mean it like that obviously. He was a good friend, a unique friend, that was certain and Alfred would not deny that but that was all he could see him as, a friend.

Before he realised it he was back in the palace, stopping by his personal drink fridge to grab a soda before storming back to his office. “No way in hell do I see him like that,” he continued, “I mean, he’s ok but that’s about it!” Various servants watched him as he continued to ramble to himself. Alfred downed the soda, crushed the can in his hand and tossed it in a bin he passed. “Special someone? As if,” he snorted as he pushed opened the door to his office.

However it wasn’t the office he walked into, it was a garden.

“Dammit,” he muttered.

He looked over his shoulder to see nothing but the rest of the garden with the stone wall in the back. The sunlight was pouring in and the little birds fluttered around the birdbath, not paying any attention to their visitor. Alfred rolled his eyes, whipping out his little notebook and jotting down a few things, things like what he did prior to coming here and his current mood and where he was at the time.

“Maybe eating or drinking triggers it?” he pondered aloud, tucking his notebook away. “Well, lets go say hi to Arthur... who is my friend.”

He walked through the garden, trying to see if he could spot Arthur and say hello. He walked around a little bit and so far he couldn’t see him, making Alfred wonder if he was inside drinking tea or writing in one of his books, or maybe he was tending to some flowers and was hidden in plain sight. He did stop by one of those special plants Arthur was growing and was surprised to see it had grown a whole lot more since his last visit. It was now much taller with more of those purple leaves growing from the top, in fact it looked an awful lot like a young tree. Did trees grow that quick? Arthur had mentioned it to him that these plants were growing unusually fast.

It was then that he heard voices, too far off for him to make out the words but not that far off either. He followed the voices, poking his head round a large rose bush and spotting Arthur, his back turned against him and currently engaged with another man. Alfred kept hidden, even though he knew no one else here apart from Arthur could see him, and observed. He recognised the other man, it was that grouchy man who took a lock of Arthur’s hair some time ago. He seemed to be the one in control of the conversation, yapping on about something.

“I wonder who he is anyway?” murmured Alfred.

He crept closer, not wanting Arthur to notice him. Alfred still couldn’t quite make out what was being said but it was painfully clear that the man was berating Arthur. Staying behind a large hydrangea bush Alfred observed silently, wondering if he should just go over there and do what he did last time. The man continued to yap away and Arthur just stood there, holding his arms with his head slightly lowered.

Alfred frowned at the scene before him. Arthur looked like a kid who was getting a scolding, he shifted a little on the spot and every once so often he’d look a little to his left before quickly looking back at the man. The man himself looked fed up but somehow had the energy to continue to run his mouth. He would stamp that cane if his upon the ground every so often and wave his free hand in the air like he was trying to swat a fly. Alfred wasn’t certain if he was angry about something or if he was just going overboard with the subject he was talking about, but as he continued to watch he realised something was off.

“Why isn’t he talking back?” Alfred could not help but notice that Arthur hadn’t uttered a single word since he arrived. He knew Arthur had a sharp wit along with a sharp tongue, so why was he acting so small right now? Why was he letting this man talk down at him?

Before Alfred could even think about going over there, he watched as the man suddenly reached out and seemed to caress Arthur’s face, the action causing Arthur himself to flinch. Alfred stood rooted to the spot and he watched with wide open eyes as the man stepped closer and embraced Arthur.

“What the hell!?” Alfred was confused as he continued to spy on the pair.

The man had one hand holding onto Arthur’s cheek and his other hand wrap round his waist, the cane still in his grip. The man then leaned over so that his head was almost resting upon Arthur’s shoulder and seemed to be whispering something in his ear. Arthur himself didn’t return the embrace, he just stood there as still as a statue.

Alfred felt off as he watched the scene unfold before him, his teeth grinding against each other and his fists clenched into tight balls. Just what the he’ll was going on? Who was that guy and why was he holding Arthur like that? He wasn’t certain why but seeing those hands on Arthur’s body was setting off sparks of... he wasn’t certain what it was but it was making him angry. Besides it was clear that Arthur wasn’t into it as his body language gave away that he was clearly uncomfortable, but then why wasn’t he pulling away? Just who was this man and what was his relationship with Arthur? He wanted to go over there right now and demand answers but he couldn’t seem to get his legs to work.

Then as quickly as it had happened the man pulled away, patted Arthur upon his head, like one would pet a dog, and exited the garden through one of doors, leaving Arthur standing there.

For some reason Alfred couldn’t move. He wanted to go up there and ask Arthur what that was all about, but he felt awkward about going up there after what just happened. He just watched as Arthur continued to stand there, noticing that he was trembling slightly. Maybe he should go over there and say something. Arthur then raised his arm and rubbed it across his face before stomping off towards another part of his garden. It was then that Alfred felt concerned and he carefully followed Arthur, not wanting to be seen just yet.

Sneaking through the garden Alfred found Arthur kneeling over some flowers that needed weeding, his back still facing Alfred. He was pulling the weeds out of the soil but Alfred noticed that his body was still trembling a bit and he could hear faint sniffles. Arthur even paused in his work to bring his hands up to his face to wipe his eyes, his body shuddering for a brief moment before he returned to his work. Alfred bit his lip, uncertain what to do or even say. He had come to see Arthur as this over confident man with a strong personality, so to see him in a distressed state like this made Alfred wonder what could he do. Could he even do anything, he couldn’t exactly touch anything here. He opened his mouth but no words came out. What should he say? What should he do? So far Arthur had been helping him every time he came here, but now it seemed like the roles had been reversed, only he didn’t know how he could help.

Still seeing him like this was making Alfred feel helpless and he couldn’t bear it anymore. He had to do something, he had to turn this situation around. So he counted to ten and said in a loud cheerful voice, “Hey Arthur! I’m back!”

Arthur flinched when he heard Alfred’s voice, quickly rubbing his face and sorting himself out before looking over his shoulder. Although he was pulling off a casual expression, Alfred could see that Arthur’s eyes were a little red. “So you are,” stated Arthur, coughing a little, “you’re looking much better.”

Alfred strolled over, pretending that he had only just appeared in the garden. For now he was going to act like he had never witnessed what had transpired between Arthur and that man. Arthur probably wouldn’t want to talk about it anyway, or maybe he’d get angry at Alfred for spying on him.

“Oh yeah, I’m doing so much better, all that advice you gave me is totally helping me with my work,” declared Alfred with a big grin. “If I could touch you I’d give you a hug.”

Arthur tried to smile and rubbed his eyes again. “Apologies, the p-pollen on these flowers is a little strong today,” insisted Arthur, sniffling a little, “it’ll clear in a little bit.”

Alfred knew it was a lie but accepted it anyway. “You’d think you’d be immune to it by now,” he teased, “gardeners and allergies don’t go hand in hand.”

“I’m not allergic, idiot,” snapped Arthur as he wiped his eyes once more, “the pollen is just a little strong today and caught me off guard.”

“Well I hope your nose doesn’t clog up,” snickered Alfred with a cheeky smile, “the last thing I want to see is your snot.”

“I beg your pardon!?” Arthur suddenly looked pissed, his cheeks now turning red. “I can’t exactly help it you idiot, and besides I use a handkerchief to clean my nose! Any sensible man would never allow anyone to see such a sight!”

Alfred stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes. “Just don’t start sneezing in my direction,” he muttered, “I don’t want your snot getting on me.”

“If I can’t touch you then I doubt any other substance from my body can’t touch you either,” snapped Arthur, folding his arms and scowling. “You’re such an immature brat, I go through all that effort to sort out your problems and you tease me about my condition. See if I ever offer you any help ever again!”

Alfred laughed as Arthur continued to fume and shout at him, going on and on about how a proper gentleman should act. It seemed he managed to get Arthur in a somewhat better mood than what he was in before. Although he did want to ask what that man say or did to him to get him so upset but Alfred decided not to pry. As long as he could get his mind off whatever was bothering him then that was enough. He could only hope that Arthur’s mood wouldn’t worsen for if it did then Alfred wasn’t certain what he could do.

“Oh yeah,” said Alfred suddenly, “those special plants of your-...”

“Don’t cut me off, you idiot,” snapped Arthur.

“Aw, but I was going to compliment you on those special plants of yours,” whined Alfred, sounding a little playful.

Arthur suddenly composed himself and wiped his hair out of his eyes. “O-Oh, I see... w-well of course. They’ve grown so well.” Arthur started acting smug again. “Guinevere has outshone them all!”

Walking over towards the centre of his garden, he ushered Alfred to follow him, his face beaming with a proud smile. Alfred followed and spotted one of the special plants that had grown a lot taller. A pole had been erected to give it some support and it had grown so tall it was now as high as Alfred’s waist. The last time he saw it, it was just above his ankle.

“Doesn’t she look grand,” sighed Arthur as he fawned over her. “She has grown far much more than the others.”

Alfred nodded in agreement, still not so knowledgeable about plants. “It sure has,” he said, “what exactly is it anyway?”

Arthur opened his mouth to answer but paused. He then smiled and raised a finger over his mouth. “It’s a secret, for now.”

“Seriously?” pouted Alfred.

Arthur chuckled at Alfred’s reaction. “I’ll let you guess,” he said.

Alfred sighed and stared at the plant. “Well it’s a tree... obviously,” he mumbled.

“Yes, but what kind of tree?” Arthur seemed to be teasing Alfred now and having fun with it.

“I don’t know,” whined Alfred, who couldn’t even name two types of trees, “an... oak tree? A willow?”

Arthur laughed and shook his head. “Look, at the rate they’re growing you’ll find out soon,” he said with a smile, “but I’ll allow you to have unlimited guesses.”

Alfred puffed his cheeks and folded his arms in a huff. “Argh, you’re a meanie,” he muttered.

Arthur did chuckle a little as he placed some more fertiliser around the growing tree. “A meanie who grows an excellent garden.”

He couldn’t deny that, it was pretty much a given fact. With a small smile upon his face, Alfred continued to converse with Arthur as he tended to his garden, the sun shining down upon the pair of them and the only sounds that could be heard were the singing of the birds and the cheerful banter of their voices.


	12. Chapter 12

“Why is this morning taking so long,” whined Alfred, staring at the clock with puppy dog eyes in the hopes that would convince time to tick faster.

Alfred huffed as he poked at his paperweight on his desk and pushed it back and forth, the morning was barely over and the evening was still far off. He had already finished his workload as there wasn’t that much, but even doing all that did make time pass any faster. He wanted to snack on some candy or burgers as that seemed to make time fly but he didn’t want to ruin his appetite.

“I want those desserts now,” he wailed, sitting up and leaning back against his chair.

Today was the day those student chefs were coming to cook their chosen dishes so Alfred could pick one to be served at the dinner party. He had been looking forward to it ever since Yao announced it, wondering what those young men and women would cook up. Cakes, pies and soft desserts filled his mind and would cause him to drool uncontrollably. He didn’t want to ruin the surprise but he wanted to know what he was going to get, it was driving him mad.

At the moment the students were getting a tour around the palace, the staff allowing them to get comfortable before they got to work. Alfred had greeted them when they arrived, smirking a little at how flustered they got before him. It wasn’t every day a caterer student got to cook for the King. They seemed like good kids and Alfred couldn’t wait to see what they’d come up with.

It was just the wait that was driving him insane.

A knock at the door caught his attention and he gazed up to see Yao letting himself in. Hopefully the Jack has something for him to do to get the idea of sweets out of his mind.

Yao could see how anxious Alfred was. “I see you’re anticipating this evening,” said Yao, seeming amused but also seemed tense.

“Why couldn’t we do it in the afternoon?” whined Alfred as he spun around his his chair.

“Because they’re on a tight schedule and if you wanted it in the afternoon then they needed to be here much earlier,” huffed Yao, pulling out a newspaper, “but I’m not here to talk about that.”

“Oh?” Alfred was a little intrigued. “What’s up?”

Yao sighed and it looked like he was at a loss with his words, twirling his fingers through his long ponytail. “Alfred,” he said at last, “you’re not... interested in anyone, are you?”

Alfred sat up upon hearing that, his face on the verge of frowning. Were the lower court members interfering with his personal life again? “I thought we went over this?” he huffed, “I’m going out with that Hamilton lady soon, aren’t I?”

“I know that,” sighed Yao, “but your little walk in the city yesterday caught some attention.”

Now Alfred was really confused. “What are you on about, Yao?”

Yao held up the paper, revealing that it was a local and popular tabloid. On the front page was a picture of Alfred in the flower shop he was in yesterday and above that was the headline, “Young King’s heart a flutter?”

Alfred went red in the face, snatching the paper out of Yao’s hands and read the article, used to seeing his name in the papers every now and then but not when it was related to stuff like this.

_“Yesterday afternoon his majesty, King Alfred F. Jones, was seen entering the popular Madame Bleu’s Florist in the northern district. This may seem uninteresting but it was his subtle actions inside that caught our attention. When the owner of the shop, Madame Bleu, offered to assist him the young King supposedly became flustered and quickly left. Madame Bleu herself was the one offered to aid the King and noticed certain traits she had become accustomed to over the years. In a quick interview she stated, “he was staring at the flowers with a look of affection. When I asked if he needed aid he became quite embarrassed and ran off, as most young people are when they’re in love and don’t realise it.” If Madame Bleu’s theory is correct than who does our King have eyes for and will we find out who? Madame Bleu’s Florist are well known for providing their customers with bouquets to strengthen the bonds of their relationships...”_

Raising his head Alfred could only stare back at Yao with a bright red face. “I-it’s not like that!” he instantly blurted out, “h-how did they even... I swear-... they-... what!?” He threw the paper in the bin and forced himself to calm down. “This is a bunch of bull,” he stated in his defence, “I don’t have my eyes on anyone! I’m not in love with anybody!”

Yao didn’t seem upset but he was a little irritated and for good reason. “What were you doing in a florists in the first place?” he asked. “It’s a little suspicious especially with that this florist has stated.”

Alfred blushed and poked his fingers together. “I just saw the flowers and they reminded me of someone,” he admitted.

“Someone I should know?” demanded Yao, now raising an eyebrow.

“Not like that!” wailed Alfred, his face now practically glowing red. “They reminded me of a friend! That florist lady is a liar! He’s just a friend!”

“He? Who’s he?”

Alfred gulped after revealing that small bit of information, sweating a little. He looked at Yao who now seemed really annoyed and curious as to who Alfred was talking about. Alfred couldn’t really blame him as he had worked hard to set up that date with Lady Hamilton daughter, he just had to convince him that he was not interested in anyone and relieve Yao of his worries.

“Yao, I swear on my life I only went into the flower shop because I saw some flowers that reminded me of a friend,” stated Alfred, placing his hands gently on Yao’s shoulders. “I’m not interested in anyone or seeing anyone, I promise. I’m going on that date with no strings attached.”

Yao kept a lingering gaze on him for a little before he pulled away. “Fine, but I’ve told you to be on guard with your actions when outside the palace,” huffed Yao as he rearranged his hat, “the tabloids will do everything they can to get a story, no matter how small the detail, and the last thing I need is for the Hamilton household to see this after the arrangements we made. We’ll ignore this for now and hopefully this piece of news will die down quick, which it should since it’s a tabloid. I’ll deal with the lower court if they start asking questions.”

Alfred nodded and sighed with relief.

“So who is this friend?” asked Yao suddenly.

Alfred wanted to say but Yao didn’t believe the last time he told him about Arthur and his garden, so he made something up. “Oh, just a gardener I speak with from time to time,” he said with a reassuring grin, “he’s a decent guy who knows his stuff about flowers and stuff, and he taught me a few things about them. That’s why I went into the flower shop.” It wasn’t exactly a lie but it seemed to convince the curious Jack.

“Hmm, you’ll have to introduce me to him sometime,” insisted Yao with a smile.

 _“I wish,”_ thought Alfred, wondering what Yao would think of Arthur and vice versa.

“Anyway I’ll just go sort this out,” declared Yao, making his way to exit the office, “don’t worry about this mess too much, but don’t leave the palace for a while. Give it a week at the most.”

“I won’t,” promised Alfred.

With Yao gone Alfred collapsed onto his chair and released a loud pent up sigh. He didn’t realise his heart was beating so fast until he finally had a moment to himself. Why did this come up again? He didn’t see Arthur like that, he just remembered feeling nostalgic when he saw the flowers. Arthur had become a really good friend of his, even if their meetings were incredibly bizarre, he had become accustomed to seeing him and enjoying his company. He couldn’t wait until their next meeting just so they could chat some more, Arthur could talk his ears off and he’d still want to listen to more. Arthur had such a way with words and Alfred couldn’t deny that he had such a gentle voice when he spoke, when he wasn’t irritated.

Leaning back on his chair Alfred sighed as he thought back to their last conversation, when Arthur was teaching him the names of some herbs he was growing whilst Alfred joked about the names Arthur had given them. Thinking back to that day made Alfred close his eyes and smile nostalgically.

———————————

Trying not to look like an over anticipating child waiting for his treats, Alfred waited patiently at the small table he was seated at with a smile he was trying to keep under control. The tablecloth was clean, the tableware was polished, and Alfred could already smell the sweet scents coming from the pantry down the hall and into the private dining room. It was making him drool like mad, he had to keep a handkerchief at the ready just to wipe his lips clean. Yao stood beside him with a notebook ready, treating the whole thing like it was some official contest. It was but Alfred thought he was taking it too seriously. The teacher from the university was also present and after he thanked both the King and the Jack for allowing his students to partake in such an historic event, he went to check on his students one last time. 

The evening sun was shining through the windows, giving the dining room a warm and gentle glow. A young steward arrived to fill his glass with some ice cold water. The clocks displayed that it was almost time for the students to present their dishes and Alfred’s stomach growled in anticipation. It looked like it was going to be a good and entertaining evening.

“Just remember that the fun you’re having is a perk,” said Yao as he scribbled some notes. “I don’t think I need to tell you how to judge but you’re looking for taste and presentation, and you can only pick one.”

“I know, I know,” insisted Alfred, perking up when he spotted the student chefs wheeling in their dishes hidden under silver trays. “From the smell alone it’s going to be a little hard to choose just one.”

“Well four of these students are going to feel a little let down after you pick a winner, so make sure you choose the right one,” reminded Yao.

“Yao, you have a talent for turning everything into such a downer,” snorted Alfred, hoping he wasn’t going to have to deal with tears and heartbreak. It was the downside to all this, picking a winner and leaving some contestants feeling like losers, but it was something he had to do and hopefully these students had a good sportsmanship nature.

Once all five students stood before him, their teacher once again thanked the King and prattled on a little about the privilege of preparing a royal dish. It didn’t take long thankfully and Alfred himself gave a quick speech at how grateful he was for all this and that even though he could only choose one, they’d all be winners in his eyes. Once all the talk was out of the way the teacher called out the name of one the students, who gave a quick bow and wheeled his dish towards Alfred, much to his delight. 

The first young chef was a little nervous and stuttered a bit, but he presented his dish with some confidence. Before Alfred was a Creme Brûlée, beautifully decorated with sugared fruit. Alfred’s eyes sparkled with delight and he almost snatched his spoon from the table. Shoving a spoonful into his mouth Alfred had to hold in a moan, it tasted sweet and creamy just like a brûlée was supposed to and the sugared fruit gave it the right kick. He made some comments that Yao jotted down and student seemed delighted as he watched the King wolf it down his dish.

With the dish completely devoured, Alfred wiped his mouth with his napkin. “That was the best brûlée I ever had,” he declared with a smile, making the student blush.

The second chef seemed confident in his dish and presented Alfred with a small fruit pie, the pastry decorated to look like stars and drizzled in a red sauce and carefully placed ball of iced cream. Alfred dug his clean fork into it and his mouth watered as the sweet scent of warm fruit filled his nostrils. It tasted incredibly sweet and crunchy whilst also soft, it was a mixture of textures as well as taste. Just like the brûlée he cleaned up the whole plate and savoured every single bite. He passed a few comments for Yao and praised the chef for such a wonderful dish. The chefs just seemed impressed that their King was eating every single bite of their dishes.

The next chef presented Alfred with a fruity cheesecake that looked like it had been crafted by a saint. Once again it tasted like heaven, with the soft cream and the crunchy biscuit complimenting each other perfectly. He gave the young chef some praise whilst wiping his lips clean, declaring that he could eat cheesecakes like that everyday. The fourth chef presented him with a fancy looking ice cream, decorated in colourful sprinkles and a warm sauce with brandy snaps. Just like everything else it tasted incredibly delicious and unique, it was unlike any other ice cream he ever had. Alfred was now worried about picking a winner, they all tasted so good. Maybe he could promise them all a future of working in his kitchen if it meant he could eat these treats everyday, he was going to have to consult with Yao at this rate.

The fifth and final chef walked up to Alfred with his concealed dish, looking very nervous and was desperately trying to hide his fear. Alfred gave him a reassuring smile and eagerly anticipated the hidden dessert, wondering what it could be.

“F-forgive me your majesty,” stuttered the chef, fumbling with his hands, “I actually debated with myself back and forth about this d-dish, but when I read about it I was c-compelled to prepare it. I hope I won’t offend you with this.”

Alfred just gave him a warm smile, wondering how a dessert could offend him. “I’m certain I’ll love it,” he insisted.

The chef bowed again and revealed his dish. Alfred stared down at the dish and was actually stunned by what he saw. Upon the plate were four separate tarts, each one the same size but each one a had a different coloured fruit sauce that sat atop of it perfectly. One was red with a single strawberry upon it, one was blue decorated with blueberries, one was green with a single cut of lime and the other was orange with a slice of the very fruit it was named after. Upon each one was a thin chocolate decoration and each of them were a different shape. The soft cream looked as fluffy as a cloud, and sandwiched between the cream was a thick and sweet looking jam. It looked like something out of a painting.

Alfred had heard of the phrase, too pretty to eat, but this dish was literally that phrase. He wasn’t sure if he should eat it, it should be put in an art museum. He wanted to say something because he realised he hadn’t said a single word since the dish was present to him and the poor chef was looking a little nervous about the silence.

“These are Queen’s Tarts,” said Yao suddenly. Alfred glanced up at Yao who was looking at the dish with a raised brow.

“Yes,” replied the chef with a wobbly smile, “I thought-...”

“You are aware of the historic importance of this dish? Do you not?” Yao seemed a little bit upset for some reason.

“I-I do sir,” answered the chef, rubbing his hands out of nerves again, “I just thought that a dish like this had to go to w-waste... because... um...”

Yao sighed and spoke again in a more softer, but still a visibly upset, tone of voice. “The Queen’s Tarts is a dish that is only served during the Queen’s Twilight Tea Party that takes place once every four years. It cannot be served during the annual dinner party with the other Kingdoms attending.”

Alfred was intrigued by this. “Wait, so only Queens got to eat this?”

Yao rolled his eyes and elaborated further. “The Twilight Tea Party is a private and traditional tea party that only the Queens of each Kingdom attend. These tarts are prepared exclusively for the Queens and no one else is permitted to eat them as tradition dictates.”

Alfred was shocked that such a beautiful dessert was only prepared exclusively for Queens. The Kings never had an exclusive dessert and neither did the Jacks, this whole thing sounded really unfair and Alfred felt a little envious. “I’ve never heard of this before,” he huffed.

“That’s because we don’t have a Queen to attend the Twilight Tea Party, we haven’t hosted it in over a century,” answered the Jack with a sigh. Yao returned his attention to the chef. “While I commend you for the beautiful presentation of this dish, we cannot accept this as an entry, I hope you understand.”

The chef seemed disappointed but also seemed to accept the reason why his dish was disqualified. Alfred frowned, not happy to see the sad look upon the chef’s face. “Well I’m not going to let it go to waste,” he insisted, picking up his fork.

As he reached for the dessert with the silver fork in hand, he was instantly stumped when his fork didn’t dig into the sweet looking tarts but instead it landed onto the surface of a dark bronze table. 

“HEY!” he snapped, mortified that the beautiful tarts had vanished from sight.

“D’AH!”

Looking up Alfred found himself staring at a startled Arthur, the green eyed man stared back at him with a look of surprise. He was holding a teacup with some of its contents dripping down the side, possibly from after getting startled. Alfred sighed and slumped forward, realising he was back in the garden once more. Not that he was disappointed to be back, it just happened right before he was about to dig into a sweet and exclusive treat. He was sitting upon some bronze garden furniture, the table before him not holding those delicious tarts but instead a tray containing a teapot, a milk jug, a sugar bowl, and a small plate with a dull looking cake upon it. 

“Oh, nice to see you too,” huffed Arthur sarcastically, wiping up the mess he made from the spilt tea, “what’s the matter with you now?”

Alfred moaned pitifully as he buried his face into his arms. “My tarts,” he sobbed, “my yummy tarts.”

Arthur was now completely confused. “Tarts? What are you on about? Speak up.”

Forcing himself to sit up, Alfred pulled a miserable pout and gave a quick explanation. “I was about to eat the most tastiest looking tarts in the world, each one a different flavour,” he wailed, “but then I end up here! I can practically taste them but I can’t!”

“Really now? You’re having a meltdown over tarts?” Arthur didn’t seem to be impressed by this.

“You don’t understand Arthur,” continued Alfred, desperate for him to understand, “these tarts are exclusive and they looked really, really good! They’re only made for this special tea party that happens every four years and I was about to eat them!”

Arthur folded his arms and now looked a little offended. “So you’d rather be eating some dessert than be here with me?”

Now Alfred was confused. “W-What? Of course I like coming here but-... wait, what did you mean by that?”

“By what?” snapped Arthur.

“By what you just said,” replied Alfred, his face turning a little red.

“What did I say?” asked a confused Arthur. 

“That last thing you literally just said,” retorted Alfred.

Arthur pondered on that for a moment. “That you’d rather fill your gut then be here with me?”

Alfred’s face then turned a bright shade of red. The conversation he had with Yao regarding the newspaper article began to resurface, and his imagination began to run wild. Thoughts of Arthur giving him flowers and wooing him with poetry, pleading with Alfred to stay here with him and say things like... like... really weird romantic stuff! It was making his heart beat fast but he wasn’t sure if it was out of nerves or pure fear that was what was going to happen. Did Arthur think that way about him? Was that what he meant by that sentence? How was he supposed to deal with that? They couldn’t even physically touch each other.

It seemed that Arthur had realised what he just said and he too went red in the face. “I-I didn’t m-mean it like that, you idiot!” he snapped, slapping his hand against the table.

“Oh thank god,” gasped Alfred, sighing with relief. “I mean, I’m not happy that you don’t think-... I m-mean, I’m glad you don’t think of m-me like that, you know that we’re friends-...”

“I know that!” snapped Arthur, his face now a very bright shade of red. “Shut up already, you bloody idiot!”

“You started it,” retorted Alfred, refusing to get the blame for this awkward moment.

“I started it!? You’re the one who thought about it and decided to share it,” argued Arthur, trying to pour himself a cup of tea to calm himself. “I was just annoyed that you’d rather stuff your face and get fat then enjoy my company.”

Alfred gasped. “I’m not fat,” he insisted fiercely, getting that accusation a lot from Yao. He didn’t need to hear it from Arthur.

Arthur then grinned wickedly and pointed at Alfred’s gut. “You waistline begs to differ,” he cackled, “probably from eating too many cakes and pies.”

That had to be the meanest thing Arthur had ever said to him. “I have a big stomach and I eat lots to keep my strength up,” defended Alfred, “and what were you doing looking at my waistline!?”

That made Arthur go red in the face once more and he spat against his tea from embarrassment. “I-I just noticed you were quite big down there and-...”

“W-WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” shrieked Alfred, his heartbeat quickening, “are you some kind of perv!?”

“I-I wasn’t talking about that, you idiot!” wailed Arthur, waving his hands manically.

The pair of them argued back and forth as the conversation continued to grow even more awkward, even the birds took off, their loud voices echoing across the garden. Their words were misinterpreted by the other and the pair of them refused to end the argument whilst looking like the one who was in the wrong. Arthur was ridiculously stubborn as expected and Alfred continued to feign ignorance to the accusations thrown at him, the pair of them refusing to back down. It went on for a good half hour until at last the pair of them slumped in their respective chairs, folded their arms and refused to look at each other, mostly from the embarrassment of all those words they blasted at each other.

Alfred tried to get his heart back under control and tried to stop his cheeks from glowing red. So many things were said between them that confused the hell out of him, and he was close to breaking from the stress of it. Why the hell did Arthur had to say things that made him sound so pervy? He had always seen him as a gentleman but now he finally saw him from what he really was, a closet pervert!

He was about to say something when he noticed Arthur had pulled out a notebook from his pocket. “Is that where you hide your erotic material? Or where you record your pervy thoughts?”

Arthur scowled and looked like he was about to snap at Alfred, but he held it back. “I’m actually working on something and after that horrible conversation I need something to take my mind off it.”

Alfred sighed and tried to stay out of it, thinking about his tarts and wondered how long he’d have to wait until he went back. After a minute he noticed that Arthur was humming a tune as he jotted down notes, scribbling over them and rewriting new notes. It didn’t seem like he was randomly writing stuff down.

“What are you doing?” asked Alfred, his curiosity stepping in.

For a moment Arthur said nothing, making Alfred think he was being ignored, until he answered him. “I have a melody stuck in my head, so I’m trying to give it some words.”

“So... you’re writing a song?” confirmed Alfred.

“That’s what I just said,” huffed Arthur, continuing to scribble away.

It wasn’t exactly what he just said but Alfred was too tired to argue. “What’s it about?” he asked, sitting up a little.

“I don’t know yet,” sighed Arthur, closing the notebook and tucking it away. “I’m trying to figure out the words.”

“Have you written any other songs?” queried Alfred. He had heard one of Arthur’s songs before and whilst it wasn’t his type of music he could listen to it for hours. Arthur did gave a lovely singing voice.

“Just a couple,” confessed Arthur, who didn’t seem keen to brag for some reason. “I like my garden to have a variety of songs to listen to.”

Alfred could not help but snort out a laugh. “You write songs for your garden?”

“Of course,” stated Arthur, who didn’t seem embarrassed. “I can’t sing the same song over and over to my flowers. They need variety.”

Alfred smirked a little, thinking how lucky the garden was that it had an owner who cared for it so much that that he’d write it songs every now and then. Alfred wasn’t even certain he could write a song, it was just poetry with a melody attached but getting every note to sound right with every word sounded like a lot of careful planning and work. Arthur seemed to think of himself as a pro and maybe he was.

“Well I’d like to hear it when you finish it,” admitted Alfred with a smile.

“That might be a while,” snorted Arthur, “I’m a little stumped with this one.”

“Maybe you just need to find the right thing to inspire you?” suggested Alfred.

Arthur smirked once more. “Your obsession with tarts and sweets maybe?” He picked up the cake upon his tray and waved it around a little. “I’d let you have this but... you know.”

Alfred pouted, watching as that cake was waved about in his face and his stomach growled again. It looked cheap and probably didn’t taste that good, but Alfred was still craved it. “You’re a perverted meanie,” he huffed.

“And you’re a fat brat,” retorted Arthur, taking a bite out of the cake.

“A brat who’s going to eat exclusive tarts,” proclaimed Alfred with a proud grin.

“I beg your pardon?”

Alfred flinched when he found himself staring up at a blushing and confused chef. He looked round and found he was back in the dining hall with the chefs and those delicious tarts. He blushed, mentally wishing that he could have some sort of warning before he popped in and out of Arthur’s Garden.

“What was that about?” asked Yao quietly, trying not to make a scene.

Alfred blushed and tried to grin. “I-I was just ecstatic to eat these tarts,” he chuckled as he gripped his fork. He looked at the rest of the chefs, who all seemed befuddled by their King’s strange outburst. Alfred decided to address the chefs before he tucked into the tarts, standing up from where he sat. “I’d like to thank you once more for these delicious desserts you all worked hard to prepare, and whilst I can’t pick all of you I believe you all became winners tonight. I’ll consult with my Jack and hopefully we’ll get back to you soon.”

The chefs bowed once more and after a few more congratulations and thank yous, they all exited the dining room leaving Alfred and Yao alone. Alfred collapsed back into his chair and stared down at the tarts, waiting for him to consume them. He stared up at Yao, who was finishing off his notes.

“You want one?”

Hearing that actually made Yao dropped his pen and his golden eyes widened in shock. “W-What?”

“You can have any except for the blueberry one,” insisted Alfred, pretending not to notice.

Yao gave Alfred a suspicious look. “You’re actually offering me one of your treats?”

Alfred shrugged. “It’s not everyday you get to eat an exclusive dessert,” he said with a tired smile, “plus I’m almost full.”

That made Yao stumble on the spot. “Who are you and where’s the real Alfred?”

“I’m serious,” laughed Alfred as he held up the plate. “Any of them but the blue one.”

Yao still appeared confused by all this, not used to his gluttonous King sharing sweet treats like this, but he did take one of the tarts off the plate. “Let’s not tell the other Kings or Jacks about this,” he insisted, “last thing we need is for them to be glaring at us in envy. Hmm, these are actually good.”

Alfred smirked as he reached for one of the tarts, staring down at his gut and wondering if he should work out a little more before going to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

“Alfred? Alfred.”

With a weary groan Alfred opened his eyes, his vision focusing as he gained consciousness. His bedroom was still dark and his alarm clock was telling him it was still late, but he was now wide awake for some reason. He slowly sat up whilst rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sleep dust that had built up, yawning and eventually stretching out his stiff muscles. He scratched his neck thinking he could go for some milk and some late night cookies, it might help him go back to sleep. The last thing he needed was to go to work in the morning sleep deprived.

“Hey Alfred.”

Alfred flinched when he heard his name being called, looking over to see a young girl leaning against his bed.

“You,” gasped Alfred, recognising the little girl from a dream he had before, wearing the same frilly dress and her large eyes looking like a sky of stars. “Am I dreaming again?”

The girl giggled and shook her head. “No, not tonight.”

Alfred sighed with relief but that didn’t explain why the girl was here, or who she was, what she was, or how she got in here in the first place. “You’re not going to take me back to that door are you?” Alfred wasn’t in the mood to get dragged back to that scary chained door.

“Nope.” The girl gave Alfred a reassuring smile. “I have confidence you can do it.”

“Do what?”

“What needs to be done,” replied the girl. “I can’t tell you everything just yet but like I said, I believe in you.”

Alfred raised a brow. “Why can’t you tell me?”

The girl looked away from Alfred for a moment, curling a finger in her fine hair before looking back. “I can’t spoil the story Alfred, it wouldn’t be right, but enough about that for now.” The girl suddenly hopped on the bed and sat next to Alfred. “How are you feeling?”

Alfred felt a little uncomfortable having a such a young looking girl sitting next to him in his bed, and he couldn’t help but scoot away from her. What was this all about? Why was this girl here and why was she suddenly curious about his feelings? The last time he saw this girl she guided him towards that accursed door and scared the living hell out of him. Looking into her eyes he could not help but shiver at how they looked like a pair of eerie voids of emptiness and yet at the same time they were full of life and mystery. Her smile seemed pure but there was just something about her that gave Alfred the creeps, she was acting all innocent and sweet so he couldn’t help but act suspicious.

“I’m doing well,” he answered, trying not to act awkward.

“That’s good,” giggled the girl, giving Alfred a sweet smile. “I caused you so much stress before, I’m sorry about that. I had to you see, but I’m glad you’re doing so much better.”

The apology seemed sincere but Alfred wasn’t going to drop his guard just yet. “Don’t worry about that.” The girl’s smile widened upon hearing that and a moment of silence passed. “Y- you’re not a ghost are you?”

“No,” laughed the girl, highly amused by the idea, “I’m just someone who’s lived here for quite some time.”

That still sounded like something a ghost would say. “Who are you anyway?”

The girl looked a little hurt for some reason and she pouted. “We met before Alfred.”

“Well yeah,” admitted Alfred, “but that was when you took me to that scary door-...”

“No, no, before that.” The girl’s smiled return as a look of nostalgia spread across her pale face. “We met long before that.”

“We did?” Alfred was certain he’d remembered meeting a girl like this one, she was very unique looking so it would be hard to forget someone like her. “When?”

“It was a while ago,” explained the girl, “but then again it wasn’t that long ago.” She winked when she said that.

Alfred rolled his eyes and sighed whilst the girl continued to giggle. It was like speaking with a Joker, everything she said was like a riddle that he couldn’t figure out. He was still convinced that she must’ve been some sort of ghost and was denying it. Or maybe she didn’t even realise she was a ghost? There was something off about her that had him on edge, but at the same time there was something calming about her and all of her words seemed to speak nothing but the truth.

“Say Alfred,” said the girl suddenly, “do you enjoy Arthur’s company?”

That caught Alfred’s attention. “You know Arthur? The one I meet in that garden?”

“Of course I do.” The girl seemed very happy about this topic all of a sudden. “Isn’t he nice? He sings such beautiful songs, doesn’t he?”

Alfred scoffed at the “nice” comment, folding his arms and blowing air past his lips. “He’s ok, but I wouldn’t call him nice.”

“Oh?”

“Well he calls me an idiot or a brat or he talks about my weight, and I recently discovered that he’s actually a pervert, he’s just really subtle about it.” Alfred huffed as he stared down his gut, confident that he wasn’t that fat but there was still some doubt in his mind no thanks to Arthur. “He acts like he’s better than me, he’s clearly full of himself and he’s got all these talents, showing off whenever he can! He’s a right snob.”

The girl giggled once more as Alfred continued to rant on and on about Arthur. “You know, if it makes you feel better, he’s actually a terrible cook.”

That made Alfred raise a brow. “He is?”

“He tries, bless him, but everything he cooks turns into something non-edible.” The girl rested her head upon her knees. “He’s a little sensitive about it so he denies it a lot.”

“Is he now?” Alfred made a sly smirk, feeling giddy that he discovered an interesting secret about Arthur, thinking it was something he could use against him. He was so going to use this to rub into his face. “Is there anything else he’s not good at?”

“Talking,” answered the girl bluntly.

That didn’t seem right. “He talks all the time,” retorted Alfred with a pout.

The girl sighed and seemed a little sad. “He talks a lot yes, but there are things he needs to say but never will.” She looked up at Alfred with a hopeful look. “Maybe you can help him with that? He really likes talking with you.”

Alfred blushed a little and felt an odd sensation in his chest, as if his heart just squeezed in on itself. He did like his chats with Arthur, he hadn’t shared interesting conversations with anyone so much before. Sure their talks with each other would evolve into either silly arguments or awkward topics, but there was something about his time with Arthur that made him feel almost at ease. Heck, Arthur actually helped him with just his advise alone, he soon found he was actually looking forward to his next visit wether it got heated or awkward or not. There was something about him that made him appeal to Alfred, like a bittersweet candy, he’d hate at first but he’d go back to it for the odd taste. Hearing what the girl said, Alfred didn’t actually consider if Arthur himself enjoyed his company, and it made him feel somewhat pleased.

Still what did she mean by things he would never talk about?

“When you see him next time, why don’t you talk to him about the herbs he’s growing,” suggested the girl out of the blue. “It might help him with a little problem he currently has.”

“What problem would that be?” asked Alfred, puzzled at how talking about herbs would solve anything.

“Inspiration.”

“Inspiration?”

The girl nodded. “Trust me on that... and also...” The girl sat upon her knees and looked up at Alfred with a heartfelt expression upon her young face. “Stay by his side and let him know he isn’t alone.”

Alfred felt a ping of concern upon hearing that as well as confused by what she meant. The way she spoke sounded like she was genuinely worried about Arthur’s wellbeing. Why would she? Arthur seemed perfectly content every time he met him... but then Alfred recalled that other man who he saw with Arthur a couple of times, the horrid rude man. The first time he saw him he was ridiculously rude to Arthur, and Alfred couldn’t resist fooling around just to get the Arthur to laugh. The second time he saw him Alfred couldn’t hear what he was saying but whatever he did caused Arthur to shed some hidden tears. Who was he? Arthur’s landlord? His neighbour? Maybe someone Arthur had to work for?

“Can you promise me that?” asked the little girl suddenly, bringing Alfred out of his thoughts when the girl held out her little finger towards him. “Pinky promise?”

Alfred was still unsure what this girl actually was, but he held out his own little finger and allowed her to wrap her’s around it. Her skin felt surprisingly warm so there was no way she was a ghost, that was something he could confirm at least.

“I promise,” he confirmed, shaking their fingers together and smiling a little as the girl smiled back.

“Thank you Alfred.” The girl then hopped off the bed, straightening out her dress. “I have to go now but I’ll see you again. Maybe we can talk longer then? Until next time”

Before Alfred could ask her another question such as what she was or what even her name could be, she trotted off out of his room and exited through the door, waving to him as she left. Alfred jumped out of his bed and followed her out of the door but he found himself staring out into the empty hallway. He scanned every corner but there was no sign that anybody was there or had been.

“She... couldn’t be a ghost?” he asked himself. “Could she? Or am I really just dreaming?” He could still feel the sensation of her finger upon his own.

With a sigh he walked back to his bed and flopped onto his fluffy duvet. As he rolled himself into his sheets, all sorts of questions began to emerge in his mind as he suddenly felt tired once more. How exactly did that girl know Arthur? Did Arthur know her? What was that about herbs? This questions stayed with him until he fell back into a deep slumber.

——————————

“I thought we went over this years ago,” sighed Yao, rubbing his brow with his fingers out of annoyance, “there are no ghosts haunting this palace.”

“I’m not certain if she’s a ghost or not,” retorted Alfred as he leaned back in his large chair. “I just see this little girl wearing a frilly dress from time to time and I was wondering if anyone else has seen her.”

“I can assure you that there has been no sighting of such a character.”

“That’s probably because she vanishes.”

“I thought you said it wasn’t a ghost?”

“I said that I wasn’t certain if she was or not. I’m just trying to figure out who or what she is.”

“Are you certain you weren’t dreaming?”

“I remember the sensation of her hand against mine, it couldn’t have been a dream.”

Yao couldn’t believe this. When Alfred asked him to his office to ask if there had ever been reports of a young girl roaming the palace at night, he first assumed that the King had become paranoid about ghosts again. Yes, there were old tales of spirits and poltergeists that haunted the palace but all had been proven false, and there was nothing about any of them looking like the child Alfred described. What had gotten into Alfred anyway? First it was a man in a mysterious garden, then it was a silver door covered in chains, and now a little girl who wandered about the palace liked she owned the place and vanished in plain sight? He wanted to think that it was just his King playing some sort of game with him and he was really starting to take it seriously, but maybe he was getting stressed? The Jack actually considered about dropping his workload for a little while.

Alfred spun in his chair once before standing up and walking over to his whiteboards, all of them almost covered in his notes and ideas regarding the mysteries he was stuck with. There were still nothing new with the missing Queen, he still didn’t know anything about how or why he was going to that garden and he knew jack about the silver door, only that the girl from last night knew something about it. However she also knew Arthur, and she sounded like she knew him really well. Was there a connection between her, the door, and Arthur? Maybe next time he saw Arthur he could ask him.

“Maybe he knows about the girl and the door?” pondered Alfred aloud, writing down this new theory.

“Do... you need some time off?” Yao was starting to feel concerned about all this. “I can call the spa?”

Alfred sighed, understanding why Yao was worried but he couldn’t just ignore all this. “You don’t need to fret Yao, I’m not loosing my mind,” he insisted.

Yao didn’t seem so sure. “I have noticed you’ve been... changing lately. Not in a bad way, but...”

“Yao I swear I’m fine.” Alfred turned to face him. “I know this looks like the ramblings of a nutcase but I’m seeing things and I’m experiencing things no else seems to notice. I want to get to the bottom of all of it so I can get my life back to normal, but I assure you that my job as King will always come first. I promise.”

That seemed to convince Yao he was still sane, but he still appeared troubled. “As long as you keep that mindset I’ll be content,” said the Jack. 

It was clear that he still didn’t exactly believe him, but Alfred wasn’t certain how he could even prove what he was going through. Without solid evidence he was going to have to continue to look like a lunatic to his Jack.

“So what’s on the schedule today?” asked Alfred, popping the cap back onto the marker and putting it away.

“We’re actually up to date now,” answered Yao, flashing a rare smile. “You don’t have to worry about anymore paperwork until next month, or if something dire comes up.”

Alfred sighed with relief. “Sweet, so smooth sailings for a bit?”

“I was thinking of adding some PR events to the schedule? You’ve rarely done any since becoming King, and your walks into town don’t count.”

That was true, Alfred couldn’t deny that. Plus PR events were kind of fun. “Alright, put me down for some of those then,” he said, making his way towards his office door. “I’m just going to nab me some cookies.”

“You’ll get fatter,” huffed Yao.

“Argh, I don’t need that from-...”

As he looked over his shoulder to glare at the Jack, he saw instead a large rose bush. Alfred stopped and once again found himself in Arthur’s garden, the sky a brilliant blue and the birds singing their lovely tunes.

“I’m starting to think hunger is the reason I’m coming here,” pondered Alfred as he took some quick notes. “Still doesn’t explain why though.” Also if it was hunger then he should be here constantly. Still it was nice to come back and it was a good opportunity to ask Arthur if he knew anything about the door and the little girl. 

Walking through the garden, Alfred looked around and it wasn’t long until he spotted Arthur in the centre most part kneeling over that special tree of his, which once again had grown quite a bit since his last visit. Arthur himself was humming that melody from Alfred’s last visit whilst he tended to the soil around the young tree, meaning he was still thinking about the words. He seemed well and from his body language he was in a much better mood.

“Hey Arthur,” cheered Alfred, waving his hand.

Arthur looked up from his work and gave Alfred a weary smile, not at all surprised to see him. “Back again, hey? Did you manage to stuff your face with those tarts of yours?”

Alfred couldn’t help but grin as he patted his belly. “They were heavenly.”

“Well good for you.” Arthur continued to tend to the soil and pull out the weeds. “Don’t blame me when those clothes of yours start to feel tight.”

“Whatever.” Alfred walked closer and stared at the growing tree. “Sheesh, this tree of yours is growing fast,” he stated, walking round it.

“They have,” chuckled Arthur, his eyes gleaming with pride, “all five of them have grown so well and at this rate they’ll be fully grown trees within the month. So care to take another shot at what type of tree they are?”

Alfred placed his hand upon his chin and tried to think. Even though it had grown a fair bit, he still wasn’t sure what it was. The leaves were still light purple in colour and the bark had no unique patterns that he could recognise, if only he had more knowledge about trees but he only knew a handful.

“Um... an oak?” guessed Alfred.

“You said that last time,” snorted Arthur.

“Oh right... a... blossom tree?”

“Nope, and be more specific.”

“A... er... a birch?”

“A birch!? Absolutely not.”

“I don’t know!” Alfred huffed, vowing to look up a picture book about trees when he got back to the palace.

“Well you have unlimited guesses,” reminded Arthur, with a smile. “Better luck next time.”

Rolling his eyes with a bemused smile, Alfred decided not to focus too much on their tree guessing game and instead wanted to ask Arthur those questions that were still fresh in his mind.

“Say Arthur,” he began, kneeling down so they were eye level with each other, “I don’t suppose you know any little girls?”

Arthur paused his work and looked at Alfred with a befuddled stare. “Little girls?”

“Yeah? Know any?” Alfred was hoping he did.

“No, I don’t believe I do,” replied Arthur. “I mean I’ve met some in my life but I don’t know any personally.”

“Are you sure?” Alfred had to be certain. “She’s got long silky hair, wears a ridiculously frilly dress and has eyes that look like a bottomless well of stars. You met anyone like that?”

Arthur now looked completely lost. “I think I’d remember meeting someone like that.”

Alfred blinked. That couldn’t be right. “Are you sure? I’m asking because I met her and she seems to know you.”

“I assure you, I don’t know any little girls wearing frilly dresses.”

“But she knew about your garden, and your singing, and that apparently you’re bad a cooking.”

That comment made Arthur sit up straight and his pale face began to turn red, from either embarrassment or rage. “W-What are you talking about? W-who told you such a thing?”

Alfred bit his lip, forgetting that Arthur was apparently sensitive about the topic of cooking. “She just said you make inedible food.”

Arthur’s face twisted into a scowl. “Oh did she now!” Arthur then stood up and began to pace back and forth. “Well I don’t know who she is but how would she know what good food is unless she tasted it? Me? A bad cook? I have baked cakes before and they turned out... somewhat alright, but I was still able to eat them and if I can eat them then they are edible! Everyone has different tastebuds, it’s not like anyone would like it straight away, it’s an acquired taste! I followed every recipe to the letter so it’s not me! What nerve! What poppycock!”

Alfred watched as Arthur continued to walk about whilst ranting about his own cooking skills. It was painfully obvious that Arthur wasn’t that good of a cook as it was clear he was just saying all those things to convince himself. Still it made him somewhat glad that Arthur wasn’t perfect with everything, it actually made him sound like an actual person. Though Alfred could not help but wonder what his cooking was like, wondering if he could actually eat it without getting sick. Maybe one day he’ll find out.

Still it did leave Alfred wondering about the relationship between Arthur and that little girl, because it seemed nonexistent at present. The girl acted like she knew Arthur and she knew things about him, even the whole cooking thing which Alfred himself would never had figured out unless someone told him. Yet Arthur claimed he did know any little girls and from the way he talked it sounded like he was telling the truth. So how come the girl knew him but Arthur didn’t know her? Maybe she watched Arthur from a distance? Maybe Arthur was lying and hiding it really well? Alfred couldn’t decide.

He still might know something about that chained door though. “Ok, so you don’t know the girl but do you know anything about a silver door covered in chains?” asked Alfred.

Arthur ceased his rant and stared at Alfred with the same befuddled look from before. “What is it with you and strange questions today?”

“Do you know such a door?” repeated Alfred, wanting an answer.

“No,” huffed Arthur, planting his hands on his hips. “I’ve never seen a silver door with chains. Why are you asking such outlandish questions?”

Alfred sighed and dropped his head in defeat. So Arthur knew nothing about the girl and he knew nothing about the door, thus he was still making no headway with this bizarre mystery. The only true advancement he made was learning that the strange girl knew Arthur very well, but why didn’t Arthur know her? If he saw her again he was going to have to ask her, and hopefully she’d give him a straight answer.

Noticing that Arthur was still waiting for an answer, he decided to give him all that he knew. “I just met this little girl last night and she seemed to know you,” sighed Alfred, “she lead me to this weird door one night and I thought you might know her since she acted like she knew you, that’s all.”

Arthur still looked peeved off. “Well whoever she is, it’s unladylike to spy on other people’s lives.” He then brushed his hair back and forced himself to calm down. “As if I don’t have enough problems.”

Alfred stood up and scooted a little closer to the angered man. “So does your cooking suck?” Arthur then gave Alfred such a terrifying glare that it looked like he could curse anyone with it. Alfred raised his hands apologetically. “Never mind.”

“Now if you don’t mind, I need to tend to Guinevere here,” sneered Arthur, kneeling back down to tend to the tree.

Watching him work away Alfred continued to quietly ponder on the connection between the girl and Arthur, wondering if there was one at all. So far all he managed to do was piss off Arthur and though he couldn’t deny it was fun to tease him, he could tell that it wouldn’t be wise to continue making fun of him. With a sigh he looked around the garden until his eyes landed on a selection of plants that were carefully arranged upon a plot of earth. He actually recognised some of them, one of them was mint and there was a small rosemary bush growing near a basil patch. A small sign was erected near them with the word, “Herbs.” It jogged his memory as he recalled that the girl asked him to ask Arthur about his herbs to inspire him. He wasn’t sure if he should or not but he was curious to see what would happen if he did.

“I see you grow herbs to,” he said, loud enough to catch Arthur’s attention.

“Hmm?” Arthur looked up at him before looking over at his herbs. “Oh yes, they’ve grown quite well this year. I’m particularly fond of the rosemary, it gives off a lovely smell.”

“Does it now?” Alfred couldn’t really smell it. Then again he couldn’t smell anything in this garden, possibly connected to the fact he couldn’t even touch anything here.

“I even managed to grow some thyme this year,” continued Arthur, “I was hoping for some sage but-...” Arthur suddenly paused in his work and didn’t move a muscle.

“Arthur?”

He didn’t respond nor did he move, but he did appear to be deep in thought. For a moment he rested his chin upon his hand and mumbled something whilst slowly moving his free hand in the air. He then reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out his notebook, whipping out a pen and scribbling away some notes whilst faintly humming a tune. Alfred peeped over his shoulder to see he was writing down the name of some herbs next to a bunch of paragraphs of strange sentences.

“What are you doing?” asked Alfred.

“Nothing, nothing,” answered Arthur, though it was clearly not nothing. “I just had a spark of inspiration, that’s all.”

Alfred’s eyes widened with surprise. It was just as the girl had said; talk to Arthur about herbs to inspire him. He didn’t know what he inspired within Arthur but still it shocked him that it played out like the girl had said. How the heck did she predict that? Maybe she was a witch? That actually made sense, a witch could use magic to see into the near future and make themselves invisible to everyone around them. That must be it! The mystery girl was a witch who somehow snuck into the palace and used her magic to mess with him, that had to be it. Still why was she giving him advice about Arthur? Was it something witches did to kill time?

“I might actually finish this,” proclaimed Arthur with a laugh as he tucked his notebook away. “I was actually stumped on that part for some time now. Thanks Alfred.”

“Huh? Finish what now?” Alfred had been lost in thought to pay attention.

Arthur grunted as he stood up and spun round. “I said I might actually finish th-...”

Arthur didn’t realise that Alfred had been standing right behind him, so after he stood up and turned around he was right in Alfred’s face. Alfred himself suddenly became aware at how close he was to Arthur, failing to notice that the other man had stood up and was now right in his face, their noses almost touching, not that could but still. He knew he should step back to give them both space but for some reason he couldn’t move, he just stared into Arthur’s face and Arthur could only stare back, seemingly unable to move himself.

He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. For some reason he found himself focusing on things that he never noticed before, like how Arthur’s eyelashes were longer than he thought, that his thick eyebrows actually made his eyes stand out. In fact his green eyes had tiny hints of gold to complement the other main colour and he noticed the way his hair shimmered in the sunlight so that it almost looked like it was forged out of gems. His skin looked smooth like porcelain and just as white, making him appear younger than he actually was, and his lips were a cute shade of pink. Alfred even noticed how short he was compared to him, and that he so thin that if he were to hug him he’d smother him completely.

Why was only now noticing these things? Why was he focusing so much on them so much? Why couldn’t he say something? Why couldn’t he move? Why wasn’t Arthur moving? Why was his heart beating so fast? What was going on?

Arthur looked like he was struggling to talk and his pale cheeks began to flush a light pink. It appeared like he was trying to look away from Alfred’s gaze but he couldn’t and his mouth kept opening and shutting, giving the taller man the opportunity to see his hidden tongue. Alfred did hear a loud gulp that came from the shorter man and for some reason that made his heart beat even faster, he could practically hear nothing but his pulse exploding in his ears.

Arthur then took a deep breath and finally opened his mouth. “I-...”

“KIRKLAND!”

The loud voice managed to get the two men out of their trance and they looked up to see someone approaching them. Alfred groaned as he recognised the man coming towards them, it was that horrid man who was constantly rude to Arthur. He looked pissed off and he was holding a fancy looking flower pot with a wilted rose within it, marching right up to Arthur and once again failed to notice Alfred’s presence. Alfred decided to remain quiet as he was still a little flustered over that bizarre moment he shared with Arthur, plus Arthur didn’t look like he was in the mood for a laugh.

The man stood very close to Arthur and gave him an ugly glare. “Kirkland, explain yourself!” The man shoved the wilted flower in Arthur’s face. “Were you trying to make a fool out of me?”

Arthur looked at the ruined plant and appeared distressed. “W-What did you do to it? I told you what it-...”

“You dare blame me for this!?” The man’s face was completely red with rage.

“It was healthy when I gave it to you,” explained Arthur in a timid voice, seeming to be more concerned about the flower’s wellbeing. “Did you water it correctly? Did you give it enough sunlight? I thought I explained-...”

“DO YOU THINK I’M AN IDIOT!?”

“I-I didn’t say that.”

“Anyone can raise a bloody plant! You just gave me one of your ruined ones on purpose!”

“All of my plants are healthy, I assure you.”

“ARE YOU ACCUSING ME OF LYING!?”

The man then threw the plant on the ground, the pot it was in smashing as soon as it hit the ground. Alfred made a “tut” sound, shocked to see such behaviour. “What a jerk,” he said aloud, knowing the man couldn’t hear him.

Arthur could but ignored him and bent down, trying to scoop up the plant from the ruined soil and broken pottery shards. The man continued to glare down at him and then, much to Alfred’s shock and disgust, the man suddenly stamped his foot down on one of Arthur’s hands just as he was picking up a sharp piece of the broken pottery. Arthur grimaced in pain but made no sound and Alfred watched in horror to see fresh blood dripping from his hand.

“What the hell, you ass!” barked Alfred, swatting at the man but making no contact.

The man then grabbed a handful of hair upon Arthur’s head and forced him to stand back up, pulling him close until he was practically breathing upon his face. “Now Arthur, you and I both know that it’s not wise to upset me, yet you went ahead and did so anyway.”

Arthur said nothing and Alfred could not help but notice how he trembled in the man’s grip. Why wasn’t Arthur talking back? Why wasn’t he pulling away from him? Did this man scare him or something? Alfred was going to say something to Arthur when the horrid man cut him off.

“I hear you’ve been talking to your imaginary friends again.” The man then used his free hand to squeeze Arthur’s cheeks, digging his thumb and fingers into his face. “I expect something like this from a child but from an adult? It is unbelievably pitiful. Do you desire company that much that you make up friends?”

Every word he uttered was like a foul smelling poison and the more he berated Arthur the more Alfred wanted to knock his head off. The worst part was that the words he spoke were clearly taking affect on Arthur, his small build seemed to become smaller as it trembled and his eyes were beginning to form tears. He was gripping his wounded hand to try and slow the flow of blood, but it continued to drip down his fingers onto the grass below.

“There is no one here in this garden but you Arthur, yes?” The man dug his fingers deeper into Arthur’s cheeks, getting a whimper out of him. “You are alone here, correct? Well Arthur?”

A loose tear finally made its way out of Arthur’s eyes and he made an attempt at nodding to agree with his tormentor. Alfred could only stand there feeling unbelievably helpless, wanting to step in to do something but he knew that he couldn’t. In a situation like this he’d act like a hero and step in to save the one in trouble, but here he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t touch anything and no one but Arthur could hear or see him. He wanted to do something, to stop Arthur from feeling so feeble and to get those tears of his to stop falling down his face, for seeing him like this was distressing. Alfred wanted nothing more than to punch this wretched man and take Arthur away from him, but he couldn’t and it was making him feel like a pathetic excuse for a hero.

“What can I do?”

It was then that he recalled what the girl told him from the night before.

_“Stay by his side and let him know he isn’t alone.”_

It didn’t sound like much, it didn’t sound like it could do anything to fix this situation, but Alfred knew it was all that he could do. As the horrid man continued to speak vile words at Arthur, Alfred walked closer until he was standing right next to trembling man. He wasn’t sure if Arthur had noticed him or not as his attention was focused on the one who was currently crushing his cheeks. His eyes did eventually look in his direction but quickly darted back towards the other man. Alfred tried to think of what to say, a simple phrase of encouragement should work but how to say it?

Bringing his lips close to Arthur’s ear, Alfred uttered a gentle and reassuring sentence. “Hey... you’re not alone, okay?”

He wasn’t sure if it did anything but Alfred did notice that Arthur eventually stopped shaking. Even as the man who held him continued to harass him Arthur seemed to have calmed down a little and regained some form of control, but he still acted small. Alfred felt almost relieved when he noticed the small change and wondered if he continued to speak words of encouragement at Arthur he’d eventually gain the confidence to free himself from the man’s hold and shout back. If a single sentence alone could do that, imagine what a whole speech could do.

Just as he was about to deliver an inspiring speech to boost Arthur’s confidence, Alfred suddenly heard Yao’s voice.

“How about you cut down on the sweets for a while, and I won’t have to say such things to you.”

Alfred found himself back in his office with Yao standing behind him, once again unaware where his King had been. He looked around in the hopes to see Arthur but knew that he wasn’t there, he was back in the garden. Alfred could not help but frown out of concern. Why did he had to leave the garden at such a time? Arthur needed help and just as he was about to do just that in the only way that he could, he ended up returning to the palace leaving poor Arthur at the mercy of that wicked man. He began to dread at what was happening to him at that exact moment. What was that man doing to him? Did the words he say to him actually helped? Was Arthur alright?

“Why are you making that face?” asked Yao, noticing the worried look upon Alfred’s face. “I was just suggesting you cut out the sweets for a while, not for the rest of your life.”

Alfred looked over at Yao and tried to smile. “N-nothing, it’s nothing.” With a heavy sigh Alfred shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged towards the kitchens, hoping that if he ate something he’d end up back at the garden so he could check back on Arthur


	14. Chapter 14

Chewing on the end of his pen, Alfred drummed his fingers against his desk with his free hand in a pitiful attempt to calm his nerves. He’d glance up the clock every now and then, sighing heavily before looking over at his whiteboards that were now almost completely full of all of his knowledge regarding the strange things that were happening to him, at this rate he was going to have to order another. For most of yesterday and today he had been trying to figure out what the trigger was to send him back to the garden, hoping that he’d stumble upon it eventually so he could go back and check on Arthur. He had been thinking about it before but because of certain events he was now more desperate to figure it out.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” he said, trying to convince himself and make him worry less. “He’s a grown man, right? He can take care of himself.”

But it was far from the truth, he was dreadfully concerned about Arthur for the last time Alfred saw him he was at the mercy of that horrid man, who injured his hand and said cruel things to him that caused him to shed some tears. Although Alfred was curious as to who that man was and why Arthur was afraid of him, he was far too worried about Arthur’s wellbeing to be thinking of such things. He believed that Arthur had a strong personality but it immediately crumbled when he was in the presence of the horrid man, and Alfred was keen to get back to make sure he was alright.

“It’s not eating and it’s not sleeping,” he huffed, standing up to stand before the whiteboards. “What is it that sends me back?”

He had gone over his notes again and again, but yet again he found no pattern nor what triggered his spontaneous visits to Arthur’s garden. As the day dragged on Alfred became more desperate to find out how to get back. He didn’t even get a proper sleep last night nor did he pay attention to anything that Yao had said to him, his mind was far too full of worried thoughts. He wondered what Arthur was doing at this moment. Was he still crying? Was hand taken care of? Did that man leave him alone? Or what if he came back whilst he wasn’t there? What if he hurt him again?

Alfred’s concerns for Arthur continued to build up so much that he snapped the pen he was holding in half, the ink spilling onto his jacket. “Dammit all,” he groaned, grabbing his handkerchief and attempted to clean up.

As he wiped up the ink as best he could, someone knocked at his office door and Yao entered seconds later. He stared at Alfred and appeared horrified. “What are you doing!?”

“It’s just ink Yao,” huffed Alfred as he continued to wipe away the black stain. “It’s not going to kill me.”

“No, I mean what are you doing here?”

Alfred paused and stared at Yao with a puzzled gaze. “I... work in here...?” With the way the Jack was staring at him Alfred had a funny suspicion that he’d forgotten something.

“Your afternoon tea with Lady Hamilton’s daughter is in ten minutes,” barked Yao, gripping the hat upon his head with panic. 

Alfred dropped the handkerchief and looked up at the clock, the large hand moving towards the next minute. He then looked back at Yao with the same confused expression upon his face. “I thought that was later on.”

Yao ground his teeth against each other so hard they looked ready to crumble. “Weren’t you paying attention to me last night!? I told you the arrangements had been changed at the last minute, she’s coming here instead and she’ll be seated in the western garden in exactly nine minutes!”

“Nine minutes?”

“NINE MINUTES!”

Those nine minutes had to be the most stressful minutes in his life. Alfred had no time to dash to his room so he warped there instead, thank god for the ability to fold time and space. Once in his room he ripped off his clothes and jumped in the shower, scrubbing himself like mad to get rid of ink and at least smell presentable. Once done with the shower he had to quickly dry himself, tidy up his hair, polish his glasses and quickly dress himself with his fresh attire that was thankfully pressed and ready to go. Once he tightened up his tie and tied his shoelaces as quickly as he could, he warped back down to the hallway that lead to the western garden with thirty seconds to spare and with Yao waiting for him with a glare.

“Made it,” declared Alfred, trying to discreetly catch his breath.

“You look like a wreck,” huffed Yao as he stepped forward to straighten out Alfred’s tie and the rest of his clothing. “She’s just entered. Now please be polite and dignified around her, and for gods sake pay attention!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Just go!” Yao shoved Alfred through the door, the King almost tripping over his feet.

Taking a deep breath Alfred composed himself and made his way over to a garden table that was beautifully arranged with polished silverware, gorgeous china cups and a lovely bouquet of flowers arranged in a vase. Surrounding them were large blue rose bushes and lavender planted in large white pots. A steward stood nearby with a tray of tea, milk and sugar, ready to serve the couple with a dignified smile. It was a calming atmosphere but Alfred thought that this garden was plain compared to Arthur’s.

Then of course there was the lovely guest who awaited him, a fair young woman in a light yellow dress and wore a matching hat, she bore a regal smile and carried an air of purity around her. Alfred couldn’t deny that she was an eye catcher, with large chocolate coloured eyes, long dark eyelashes, long wavy brunette hair and a figure any girl would kill for.

As he approached she curtsied before him, and he bowed back. “Lady Hamilton, I presume?”

The woman giggled. “You may call me Charlotte, your majesty.”

“Lets drop the formalities and just call me Alfred.”

She giggled again and allowed Alfred to seat her before taking his own seat. Alfred wasn’t nervous about impressing her, in fact he was confident he could woo any woman, but after rushing about whilst being concerned about Arthur he couldn’t think of anything to say to her, so he asked her about her upbringing and after that she pretty much took control of the conversation. She spoke of her home, the school she attended, her hobbies and interests all the while they drank tea and shared biscuits. Her voice was gentle and soothing, nothing she said was boring or out of place, she even had a bold sense of humour that actually got a chuckle out of Alfred. She even admitted to liking sweet things like candy and pies, was inspired by heroes she read about in her books and favourite TV shows, and discreetly revealed that despite her strict upbringing she did enjoy a video game once in a while. She even told a few good jokes, and laughed at one of Alfred’s own silly jokes, the pair of them enjoying each other’s company a great deal. She was definitely a woman that Alfred could see himself sharing a future with... only...

“Could you excuse me a second?”

Charlotte smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

Alfred got up and made his way over to Yao, who had been silently observing from afar, the Jack appearing much calmer now that everything seemed to be running smoothly. “Well? You two seem to be hitting it off.” Yao seemed pleased with that.

“Um... yeah,” replied Alfred, folding his arms and bounced on his heels for a moment. “I don’t like her.”

Yao’s expression dropped. “What?” He looked over at the young woman before looking back at Alfred. “Are her breasts too small or something?”

“No,” hissed Alfred, turning a little red. “She’s perfectly fine.”

“Then what’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know, I’m just not... interested in her.”

“Did she say something to offend you?”

“No, she’s a perfectly delightful lady.”

“Is it her age? It’s actually not a bad thing to date a woman five years older than you.”

“Yao, nothing is wrong with her, it’s me! I’m not interested in her.”

Yao now appeared terribly confused as he tried to figure this out. Charlotte Hamilton was a well sought after woman, a lot of men and even some women were desperate to win her heart and from what he heard she had a personality that would even attract Alfred. “Why don’t you like her? You two seem perfect for each other.”

Alfred shrugged. “I... just don’t feel anything for her.”

“Maybe you need to spend more time with her?”

“No... I... I don’t... I mean I can’t see her as someone I’d take as a wife.” Alfred wasn’t sure how he could describe this, rubbing his hand through his hair.

She was indeed a one in a million catch but for some reason he wasn’t at all attracted to her. She had the body of a goddess and an amazing personality but none of it was setting off sparks of romantic ideas. Alfred felt a little confused, for he had flirted with girls like her in his youth and had even played the hopeless romantic at some point, but now he couldn’t even picture him and her dating or even getting married.

Yao seemed to get the idea and sighed. “Well I can’t force you to see her again, but what are you going to say to her? Her mother has been acting like you two are a sure thing.”

Alfred blew air past his closed lips. “I’m just going to have to tell her I’m not interested.”

“You can’t say it like that,” hissed Yao, “be polite and gentle. I don’t want her running back to her mother in tears.”

“I can do that,” chuckled Alfred as he gave him a wink and headed back to the table.

However as he got closer and closer to the table, he suddenly found that nothing was coming into his mind. All the words he thought he had were nowhere to be found and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t think of anything to say. He wanted to let the lady down gently without hurting her feelings, wanting her to feel like it wasn’t her but rather it was him, but he didn’t know how to say it right. The last thing he wanted was to offend her and get a slap to the face.

“Are you alright Alfred?”

“Hm? Oh yeah I’m fine, yeah totally fine.” Alfred sat back down and stared at her, his hands clutching his knees as he tried to think of what to say. “So... Miss Charlotte,” he began.

“Yes?” She smiled so innocently at him and Alfred became scared he was going to say something to upset her.

Staring down at his knees Alfred concentrated really hard on what he should say to her, seeking out the pattern of words that would aid him in this situation. Nothing was popping into his head and ten seconds had already passed since she answered him. He had to think of something, he had to say something, but what? What should he say? What would Arthur say? Arthur would know what to say. Was Arthur alright? Did he get away from that horrid man? Dammit, he knew now why he couldn’t think of anything, he was still worried about Arthur and it was affecting his thinking.

“Dammit,” he silently cursed.

“Alfred, are you alright?”

Alfred eyes widened as the voice that said that didn’t belong to a woman. He looked up and found himself seated at a small dining table in a familiar room and sitting opposite him was...

“Arthur!”

Arthur stared at him from where he sat, a hint of concern in his green eyes. An empty plate upon a tray was in front of him with used cutlery placed on it and he was currently holding a glass of water. It appeared he had just eaten and Alfred must’ve arrived after he had finished his meal. He seemed to be alright and healthy, he was definitely better than the last time Alfred saw him.

“I just finished lunch,” sighed Arthur, downing his water and wiping his lips with a napkin. “Good thing really, it’s not polite to talk during a meal, especially if the guest can’t eat anything wether he wants to or not.”

Alfred stood up from where he sat and walked round to inspect Arthur, his eyes scanning every inch of him and noticing that his left hand was covered in bandages. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you? What did he say to you? Are you feeling better?”

Arthur seemed taken aback by the sudden barrage of questions. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he insisted, setting his water down.

“Really? Are you sure? Is your hand ok? It’s not broken is it?”

“It still works.” Arthur bore an amused smile as he wiggled his fingers to prove it.

“Are you really ok? Do you need to talk about it? Did you cry it out? Sleep ok?”

Arthur was starting to get irritated. “Enough questions if you don’t mind, I’m perfectly fine as you can see so would kindly drop it.”

Although he stated he was ok, Alfred could not help but make certain that he was 100% ok. “It’s just that... he hurt you and he said stuff that made you cry and-...”

“Alfred I appreciate your concern,” scoffed Arthur who appeared amused for some reason, “but I put up with that every now and then, and unfortunately he caught me had a bad time, and I was a little upset about the flower I gave him, that’s all. So what’s bothering you now? You looked a little troubled when you appeared.”

Seeing how Arthur was acting like nothing bad had happened and then tried to change the subject shocked Alfred. He remembered how that man smashed his foot against Arthur’s hand, how he grabbed him by the hair and almost crushed his face with his fingers, and how he said horrible things to him that caused Arthur to shake like a frightened child and cry. After going through something like that he should at least be somewhat upset or at least a little miserable. It was a good thing he wasn’t but still he seemed to treat the whole thing like it was nothing and it wasn’t just that. Alfred had spent a day and half worried sick about Arthur, dreading that he was still an emotional wreck, desperately trying to figure out how to return to the garden to check in on him, only to find him enjoying a lunch and acting like it was nothing!?

“I was worried about you dammit!”

Alfred’s loud voice caused Arthur to shudder and he stared up at him with wide open eyes. Alfred stared back, not realising he was glaring angrily at him whilst heaving heavily, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles were turning white.

“I thought you were in trouble! I thought that creep was hurting you! I was trying to figure out how to come back here to check on you, and you’re acting like it never happened! I was worried sick, you insensitive jerk!”

His words seemed to cause Arthur to blush furiously and he looked away out of shame. “I’m... sorry that I worried you,” he mumbled, “but I’m used to it and-...”

“That’s the problem! You shouldn’t be used to it!” Alfred stamped a foot against the ground and tried to stop himself from punching the air. “You jerk, you selfish ass! Go to hell dammit!”

“Alfred, I think y-you need to calm down,” pleaded Arthur, recognising the temper tantrum that was about to explode.

But Alfred couldn’t. All of his pent up worries and fears had been replaced with anger and confusion and he couldn’t contain it. He began to storm around the room shouting curses and screaming bloody murder, his arms waving about like they belonged to a madman. He called Arthur selfish and insensitive, he complained how his concern for him almost ruined his day, how he couldn’t even think of what to say as to not hurt the feelings of a nice lady. He went on and on until his voice was starting to get sore from his continuous ranting, and finally he stopped in his tracks and glared down at Arthur, who was completely speechless. Alfred’s lips trembled, his face was red with anger and he didn’t realise that some tears were almost forming in his eyes.

“You... you... JERK!”

Alfred then folded his arms tightly around his chest and huffed as he sat back down, not even looking at Arthur. A moment of silence passed and eventually Alfred was beginning to regret some of the things he said, but he couldn’t help it. Seeing Arthur acting like he normally did after having that happen to him and then claiming he was used to it set something off inside of him. It was like an explosion of emotion that he had to let out, fireworks of anger, disgust and bitter sadness were let loose and it let it all explode right in front of Arthur, and it was probably the last thing he needed. He should say something, apologise at least and let Arthur know that he wasn’t really angry at him.

“I’m... sorry.”

Hearing that apology caused Alfred to flinch. Looking up, Alfred could see that Arthur seemed to be in shock and was embarrassed by all that ranting, his face blushing a bright red and he was fumbling with his hands. He couldn’t even look Alfred in the face and was actually struggling with his words.

“I appreciate your concern,” continued Arthur, “it’s just I’m... I’m not used to having someone worry over me... that passionately.” He almost mumbled that last sentence.

Alfred bit his bottom lip, feeling really bad for what he had just said and for putting the pair of them in an awkward situation. Still, to hear Arthur say that made his heart ache and he knew he had to get rid of this tense atmosphere fast.

“I’m sorry too,” said Alfred, wheeling himself around to face Arthur, “I was going through one of those days and I left you at the worst possible moment, and I just couldn’t help but worry.”

Arthur managed to give Alfred a small smile. “I appreciate it, but you don’t need to. Like I said I’m used to it and he actually caught me on a bad day.”

Alfred still didn’t like that answer. “Who is that jerk anyway? Why is he so mean to you?”

Fiddling with his fingers, Arthur seemed to be trying to think of an answer. “He’s... sort of both my landlord and my boss.”

“You work for that guy!?”

“Kind of.” Arthur scratched his head and looked like he was hiding something. “It’s really complicated.”

“Well you should quit and move out,” declared Alfred, knowing if their situations were reversed he’d move out in an instant.

“What? And leave him with my garden?” Arthur scoffed at the very thought. “Did you see what he did to that single rose I gave him? He couldn’t maintain a simple flower patch if the instructions he had were written in very simple and oversized words that even a two year old could understand! If you think I’m going to let him have my garden and wreck it, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“You could always grow another one.”

“Oh really? Where?”

Alfred pondered on that for a moment. “Well, my place has a few gardens.”

“Your... place?” Arthur seemed surprised to hear that.

“Yeah! I’ve got lots of gardens!” Alfred suddenly seemed excited about the idea for some reason, liking the idea that all of his gardens would suddenly become beautiful and vibrant like Arthur’s garden. “With your skill you’d be head gardener in no time.”

Arthur opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He appeared to be genuinely happy about the idea but at the same time he looked very sad about it. “It’s a nice offer,” he said at last, “but I can’t.”

“Why not?” Alfred was mortified that such an offer would get turned down. 

Arthur thought about his answer. “I’ve put in a lot of effort into my garden, and I can’t just abandon it,” stated Arthur with a sad smile. “I appreciate the idea, but I’m going to have to decline.”

He wanted to say something to change his mind but Alfred could tell that no matter how much he begged or pleaded, Arthur would still say no. It did make sense that he didn’t want to abandon his garden that he put so much time and effort into, but to put up with that horrid man was something not even Alfred could handle. Was Arthur willing to live here and work for such a cruel person if it meant he could continue tending his garden? It seemed like it and Alfred felt a little hurt that Arthur would choose his garden over his offer.

“Still, you shouldn’t let that guy walk all over you,” huffed Alfred, deciding that if he couldn’t get Arthur to leave, he could at least get him to learn to stand up for himself. “You gotta get tough and show him you mean business.”

Arthur rubbed his temples with a single finger. “I don’t think I could,” he confessed, his expression looking rather sheepish.

“Seriously? C’mon Arthur, you threatened me with a poker and your library when we first met, and you scared the hell out of me!”

Arthur snorted as he recalled their first meeting. “You were pretty scared.”

“Right!” Alfred hated admitting that he got scared but he was determined to boost Arthur’s confidence. “So when that guy grabs you just hit him, or push him away. Shout at him if he says mean things, get angry, it’ll throw him off guard and you might even scare him. Make him see that you’re not a walking doormat.”

“But that was different. You can’t physically touch me.”

“You didn’t know that until you tried to hit me with that book! You threaten to knock the daylights out of me or something.”

“W-well... you’re not him and-...”

“That’s no excuse! If you could scare me with words alone, you can do the same to that creep!”

“You make it sound so easy,” chuckled Arthur, possibly finding it funny that it was now Alfred who was giving him advice.

“It is easy, just gave a little faith in yourself and you’d be surprised with what you can accomplish.”

His words seemed to put Arthur in a somewhat better mood, and the small smile he was making seemed genuine. “I’ll give it a try,” he promised.

“No! No trying, you’ll do it! Right?”

“Alright, Alright,” snorted Arthur, trying to stop himself from laughing, “I will, I promise.”

Alfred sighed with relief and could only hope that Arthur would keep his word. He doubted his confidence would boost overnight so Alfred decided that every time he came here he’d continue to build up Arthur’s confidence, shower him with words of strength and inspire him to find the courage to fight back. Hopefully the next time that jerk came to torment Arthur he’d be ready to stand up for himself, or better yet he himself would be there to give him some emotional support.

“You know, you’re the last person I’d expect to hear such inspirational words from.” Arthur was now giving Alfred a cheeky smirk. “You’d either be complaining about tarts or talking about little girls in frilly dresses.”

Alfred pouted. “Oh come on, I can give a good pep talk.” He then slumped forward and huffed. “At least I can do that, I can’t even think of what to say to this lady without hurting her feelings.”

“What lady?” Arthur seemed curious.

“Oh, before I came here I was having tea with this nice lady,” explained Alfred as he sat back up. “It’s one of those blind date kind of things.”

“You were on a... date before coming here?”

Alfred sighed, not noticing the oddly envious expression Arthur was making. “It was all set up because they want me to get hitched fast, and she is nice and all that but... I’m really not interested in her... and I want to tell her that without hurting her feelings.”

“Oh. I see.” Arthur coughed to clear his throat. “So you want to let her down gently?”

Alfred nodded. “You seem good with stuff like that, right? What should I say?”

Arthur thought for a moment, thinking hard on what words to use or rather what words he could give to Alfred. “First you look at her in the eye, eye contact is important here. Speak in a clear and normal voice, don’t try to sound upbeat like you normally do but at the same time try not to sound too serious. Now you say her name... what’s her name?”

“Charlotte.”

“Ok, you say; Miss Charlotte, I have enjoyed our afternoon together and I have never met such a lovely young lady who has intrigued me so. However at this moment in time I’m afraid I cannot see this relationship between us grow any further, which is no fault of yours but mine alone. I am certain you will find a gentleman who is far more deserving to court you than I and I can only wish he will come for you soon. I thank you for understanding.”

It sounded perfect, the perfect way to make certain Miss Charlotte wouldn’t cry, but there was now a new problem. “I can’t remember all that!”

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes. “Ok, we’ll practice then. I’ll be this lady and you be you. Ok? Let’s begin.”

Roleplaying then? Alfred could do that, it sounded a little fun. So for the next few minutes he and Arthur practiced the speech over and over, the pair of them determined to get the words soaked onto Alfred’s brain. Sometimes Alfred would forget a certain word or he would say it wrong, so he’d have to start over. He even got some sentences jumbled up and his tongue would twist his words until he sounded like an idiot. Arthur would correct him and raise his hand up and down if his tone of voice was too high or too low. After a dozen more attempts Alfred finally mastered the speech and was able to use the proper tone of voice, much to Arthur’s delight.

“Ok, but what about after?” asked Alfred, wanting to be completely prepared, “What if she tries to persuade me to change my mind? What if she’s dead set on me or something?” 

“Be firm, not too firm, but make it clear that your mind is made up. I can’t lie but if that does happen there might be tears.”

“I don’t want there to be tears.”

“Relax, just like you told me before, have a little confidence in yourself and you’ll be fine.” Arthur gave him a genuine smile of reassurance. “Just be yourself.”

Alfred couldn’t help but smirk after hearing that and he looked down at his folded arms after realising that it was true, their roles had indeed reversed. “Thanks Arthur,” he chuckled.

“Who’s Arthur?”

Alfred’s head snapped upwards and he found himself staring at a confused young lady. “Oh... um, no one. Sorry.” Alfred smiled nervously and tried to recompose himself, a little miffed that he once again returned from Arthur’s garden without any warning.

“Are you alright?” Miss Charlotte seemed concerned.

“Oh no, no, I’m fine,” insisted Alfred as he cleared his throat and remembered what Arthur had instructed him to do. Keeping his eyes on her he spoke in a calm and sincere tone of voice. “So... Miss Charlotte, I have enjoyed our afternoon together and I... I have never met such a lovely young lady who has... intrigued me so. However at this moment in time I’m afraid I cannot see this... relationship between you and me... grow any further, which is no fault of yours but mine alone. I am certain you will find a gentleman... who is far more deserving to court you than I... and I can only wish he will come for you soon. I thank you for understanding.”

There was an unbearable silence that followed right after that, with Miss Charlotte staring at him and Alfred having no choice but to stare back. For a moment he was scared that she was going to start crying and beg him to reconsider.

However she suddenly smiled at him and giggled. “That’s... actually a relief.”

“Huh?” Alfred wasn’t expecting that.

“Forgive me,” she chuckled, “but I was actually trying to think of something similar to say to you. You’re a handsome man Alfred and such a sweet person, but I’m afraid I’m not really... invested in a relationship with you.”

“You’re not?” Alfred wasn’t sure if he should be happy or sad about all this.

She then leaned forward and said in a hushed voice, “the truth is I’m currently and secretly dating this lovely lady from the Club Kingdom, and I haven’t told my mother yet.”

“Ah, I see,” replied Alfred with a small chortle.

The pair of them laughed after revealing their thoughts about a relationship together, and Alfred was just glad there wasn’t going to be any tears or heartbreak after all that. He felt like he had just wasted Arthur’s talent of speeches on something that didn’t even need one, and it just made him feel strangely giddy for some reason.

“Well Alfred, as much as I have enjoyed this, I think I better go and explain myself to my mother,” announced Miss Charlotte as she stood up.

Alfred stood up, offering to at least escort her to her vehicle that was waiting for her. “This lady you’re seeing sounds lucky to me.”

“Thank you.” She blushed a little as she smiled up at him. “And it appears you and I are not so different after all.”

“Beg your pardon?” 

She said nothing but gave him a wink and another one of her charming smiles. Alfred discreetly rolled his eyes, wondering if he’d ever understand the mind of a woman as well as their hearts. Still he felt strangely happy that he wasn’t going to be continue his relationship with her, as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders.


	15. Chapter 15

After the not so successful date with Lady Hamilton’s daughter, Alfred and Yao had to put up with the lower court members trying to interfere once more in the hopes to find their King a suitable consort. Apparently they were shocked that neither Alfred of Lady Hamilton’s daughter were interested in each other, believing that they were a sure thing, and now they were desperate to seek out another maiden for their young King to woo. They did learn that Lady Hamilton herself had just found out that her daughter was interested in someone else and was glad that the whole thing was called off, apparently she herself was just keen to get her daughter into a relationship. 

That didn’t stop the lower court members from pleading with the Jack to aid them in finding someone else. Surprisingly Yao actually ordered them all to drop the whole thing and focus on more important matters, arguing that Alfred was still too young for a relationship and forcing him to date someone he didn’t like would only cause him stress. That and he was sick and tired of having to listen to them whine about the whole thing, claiming it was now giving him grey hairs. Alfred was just thankful that they were now going to leave him alone and let him get on with his personal life.

He was also feeling a little better regarding Arthur, though he couldn’t deny he was still a little worried about him, what with that man he apparently lived under and worked for. The stuff he said about being used to it didn’t sit well with him, and the fact that he turned down his offer to move out and live at his place also concerned him a little. How did Arthur end up in that situation anyway? Why live there with such a horrible landlord? He just hoped that whilst he wasn’t there the horrid man wouldn’t show up, and if he did he could only hope Arthur would take his advice.

To try and keep his worries out of his mind, Alfred decided to do some planning. It was late in the morning and he strolled around the palace grounds with Yao following close by, talking about a PR event they had planned out yesterday. Yao got in contact with a local school who were hoping on holding a fair on their school grounds, but the school was too small to hold one, so Yao suggested they hold it at the palace in one of their gardens. It would look good for both the school and for Alfred’s reputation, even though he was quite popular amongst his people. Still giving it a little boost wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s at the end of the week,” explained Yao as he looked over his notes, “which is good because the following week is when the other Kingdoms will arrive for the dinner party.”

Alfred whistled. “It’s already been two weeks?”

“Since you last saw the Diamond King?”

Actually he had been thinking that it had been two weeks since he had been going to visit Arthur, though of course Yao didn’t know that. “Yeah, I guess. I wonder how Francis is doing anyway.”

“You’ll find out at the end of the week,” answered Yao, “he’s coming the day before the school fair.”

Alfred almost forgot. “He did mention he was coming a few days early.”

“Yes, and then on the day after the fair is when the Ludwig will arrive and the day after him is when Ivan will arrive.” Yao flipped through his notes once more to find the information he needed. “As tradition dictates they will stay here until the dinner party and then return to their respective Kingdoms the following day.”

“We’re going to be busy,” chuckled Alfred.

“The rooms are ready to go, but can we inspect them the day before they arrive? We don’t want what happened over in the Heart Kingdom when they hosted it to happen here.”

“Oh yeah!” Alfred burst out laughing. “What happened again? The Heart Jack guy, he hid his lunch under one of the beds and forgot about it?”

Yao even smirked a little for he had been there and watched the whole thing unfold. “Apparently Ludwig had put him on a diet and he had been sneaking large pasta dishes into one of the guest rooms. Francis was the one who discovered it after he noticed the stench.”

“Well I don’t have to worry about you doing that.”

“I was actually worried you would.”

Alfred made a mock gasp of shock. “I’d never hide my food under a bed!”

“No, you’d stuff it down your throat.”

The pair of them shared a rare chuckle and they continued to plan out the upcoming events. Eventually the afternoon had arrived and after a quick lunch Alfred decided to take another walk but this time by himself. He wandered into one of the gardens and found himself comparing it to Arthur’s. Everything in Arthur’s garden seemed alive and breathing but here in one of his gardens it just felt like a large patch of green with neatly arrange plants. It just felt dull compared to Arthur’s, there was even a rose bush that looked just a pretty as the ones Arthur grew but they felt so... ordinary. Alfred couldn’t quite explain it.

Alfred then started visiting the other gardens and just like with the first one, he found them all boring despite being filled with gorgeous plants and exotic flowers. How did Arthur manage to make his garden, that was in a small place, feel like something out of a fairytale? That was the only way he could think of to describe it, Arthur’s garden just felt enchanted and full of vibrant life. Maybe he was just that good of a gardener.

“I bet if he worked in my gardens he’d make them all feel like that.”

He continued to explore every single garden that was in the palace, from the ones that were too big for him to explore entirely to the small ones that were used to entertain private guests, and he even ended up in the Elder Tree garden. From one of the balconies overlooking it he gazed down at the flowers that surrounded the tree, all of them in bloom with butterflies fluttering about. The tree itself was just as beautiful, with its silver bark and blue leaves that glowed even in the daylight.

There was still something off about that tree, but Alfred shrugged it off and continued with his walk. “I wonder if Arthur could grow one of those?”

As the day dragged on Alfred decided to go to the library to seek out a book about trees, hoping he could recognise the ones Arthur was growing.

“Maybe they’re those trees that grow in the Heart Kingdom,” he pondered aloud. “What were they called? Sakura trees? No, they have pink petals... or maybe the one he’s growing are a special type of sakura trees that have purple ones?”

Reaching the library door, he pushed it opened and walked into the very garden he had been thinking about, with birds and butterflies fluttering around him and the flowers looked like they were glowing as the sun hit them. Once more he had arrived in Arthur’s garden with no warning. He wasn’t even surprised anymore, it was like it was a part of his life now and he was beginning to doubt he’d ever find the reason why he was constantly coming here, not that he was complaining.

“Nice to see you again.”

Alfred looked over to see Arthur sitting at his garden table doing some embroidery, pausing to wave at him. Not even he seemed surprised anymore, as if he had just accepted that Alfred appearing in his garden out of the blue was now something that was definitely going to happen every day, and it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Ditto,” replied Alfred as he approached him. “How is the hand by the way?”

Arthur’s left hand now only had a single bandage upon it and from the look of his needlework it had been healing nicely. “Just a scar that will eventually fade,” he answered, “I’ve used herbs to speed up the healing process.”

That was good to hear at least and Arthur appeared in much better spirits. Alfred felt awkward for some reason the longer he stood there in silence so he glanced over at the fast growing trees and made another attempt to name them. “Ok, are they Sakura trees?”

That guess made Arthur laugh. “Good heavens no.”

“Dammit,” huffed Alfred, snapping his fingers.

“I always wanted to grow a Sakura tree but they’d take forever to grow,” sighed Arthur. “In the spring they’re completely pink and when their petals fall it’s like snow. At least that’s what I heard.”

Alfred recalled the time he went to the Heart Kingdom as a child and was shown around an orchard filled with nothing but pink trees, their petals littering the floor. It was as if the whole world had turned pink. “They are a pretty sight.”

“You know, there is an interesting legend surrounding that particular tree.” Arthur was smirking wickedly. “Did you know that the petal of a Sakura tree was originally white?”

“Was it?” As already established, Alfred wasn’t that knowledgeable about trees.

“Yes, until one day a Sakura tree was planted in a battlefield and its roots drank up the blood from the corpses of the fallen soldiers, turning the petals pink.”

Alfred took a cautionary step back. “W-What?”

“That’s way if you ever see a pink Sakura tree, it means that a corpse is buried underneath it.” Arthur was giving off a creepy aura as he chuckled. “Wouldn’t surprise me if they came back to life just to get their precious blood back.”

Alfred shivered where he stood, thinking back to that day in the Heart Kingdom, thinking about the hundreds of trees he saw and the thousands of petals that covered the ground. Did he actually walk through a giant graveyard where the trees drank the blood from the bodies buried beneath them? He even ate one of the petals out of curiosity. Did he eat blood!? His mind began to fill with thoughts of living corpses dragging themselves out of the roots, determined to find blood to fill their rotting bodies, dragging him into their graves where the roots would dig into his own body to drain him of his precious body fluids.

Arthur began laughing when he noticed how terrified Alfred looked. “It’s just a legend you silly idiot, it’s not true.”

“Argh, you meanie!” Alfred hated it when he was made a fool of. Still he was relieved that it wasn’t true, he wouldn’t be able to handle the nightmares from that.

“Sorry, but you’re too easy to scare.”

“That doesn’t mean you can tell me stories like that. I have a very active imagination.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“It is when I’m trying to get a good nights sleep.”

Alfred huffed and sat down opposite Arthur as he continued to sew away. Glancing at the stitch work Alfred couldn’t help but marvel at the pretty patterns upon the white material. Now that he thought about it, Arthur seemed to have been brought up exceptionally well. He had vast knowledge of many things, had skills with reading, writing, sewing and gardening, spoke with a dignified voice and wore clothes that only nobles would wear. If Alfred remembered correctly Arthur stared that he lived in a forest in his youth, and he was now curious as to how Arthur became this way.

“Didn’t you tell me you lived in a forest as a kid?” asked Alfred, wanting to know the full story.

“Hmm? Oh yes I did,” replied Arthur, “for a little while at least.”

“What happened after a little while?”

Arthur continued to sew as he answered Alfred’s query. “I told you that I sold firewood to make a little money? Well when I was around ten years old I caught the attention of the owner of a local library. He took pity on me so he allowed me to live in the library as long as I kept everything neat and tidy.”

“So a roof over your head in exchange for a little labour.”

“I enjoyed it actually. He was old anyway and he couldn’t handle all the work nor afford to hire anyone. He even made me some decent meals from time to time. When I wasn’t cleaning or organising I got to read all the books I wanted. Those books were my teachers and I learned a lot from them.”

“I take it they didn’t have a section on cooking?” Alfred snorted at his own joke.

“They did actually,” huffed Arthur, scowling a little, “I just happened to be more interested in the history section. Anyway I practically owned that library, though I did go to the forest every now and then to visit the faeries.” Arthur ignored the way Alfred rolled his eyes at that comment. “They even had this special class where boys from a local finishing school would visit and I used to spy on their lessons, I learned so much from those sessions. I really enjoyed that place, it was probably what I’d call my first true home.”

As Arthur began to loose himself on the nostalgia of his memories, Alfred was kind of glad he got to learn more about him. It did explain a few things at least, he was self taught and that was kind of admirable. He himself had tutors to teach him and he hated it.

“So... how did you end up here?”

Arthur paused his work. “Oh... um... it sort of happened out of the blue. I was eighteen years of age and I was walking back to the library with some new books from the post office and then... I had to leave.”

That’s it? “What do you mean you had to leave?”

“I... just couldn’t work there anymore.” Arthur now looked sad. “I then came here and been working here ever since. It’s not exactly the same... well at least I have a garden, back at the library I could only grow some flowers on my windowsill.” He then lowered his embroidery and stared into space with a frown.

From the way he spoke it sounded like he didn’t really want to talk about it anymore. He couldn’t really fault him on that, he had a decent place to live and then all of a sudden he had to leave it all behind for some unknown reason, and it sounded like he didn’t want to leave it. Maybe the library burned down or maybe the old guy who ran it died and the new owner didn’t want Arthur working there anymore. Whatever the reason Alfred decided to drop it and change the subject.

“Hey, I’m actually hosting a fair at the end of the week,” declared Alfred, the school fair being the first thing to pop into his head, “it’s for these schoolchildren and we’re going to have all sorts of rides and games and stands that sell delicious snacks! It’s going to be a blast!”

At first Alfred wondered if this was actually a good topic to bring up after that sort of bitter tale, but Arthur looked intrigued. “I always wanted to visit a fair,” he stated with a smile. “The place where I used to live didn’t host any and nearest ones were too far for me to walk to.”

“We’re going to have all sorts of things, like cotton candy machines, and entertainers for the kids, and in the evening we’re setting off fireworks!”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Oh it will be,” promised Alfred with a broad grin, “I’m going to make certain those kids have a party that they’ll never forget. It’ll be a party they’ll tell their grandkids.”

Arthur chuckled at Alfred’s overbearing confidence. “You sound like an eccentric host. I’m certain those children will have the time of their lives if you’re in charge, just don’t eat all the cotton candy.”

Alfred would’ve retorted against that, but he couldn’t help but notice that Arthur wasn’t trying to invite himself. He did just state that he always wanted to go to one, so why wasn’t he asking Alfred if he could come along. In fact, why didn’t he think of that before? A light bulb just lit up in his mind and it was as if it was lighting up the whole world with how brilliant the idea was. He should’ve just asked Arthur if they could meet up for real, instead of him continuously warping to his garden. He doubted Arthur lived that far away, from the looks of the weather he lived somewhere in the south, maybe near the Diamond Kingdom. This was a great idea!

“Why don’t you come?”

That request made Arthur miss a stitch and he glanced up at Alfred with a surprised look. “Me?”

“Who else,” chuckled Alfred. “It’s at the end of the week. I know it’s for kids but I have another friend around your age coming and you two might hit it off.”

Arthur seemed to appreciate the idea but he didn’t appear overly enthusiastic about it. He placed his embroidery down and drummed his fingers along the table. “I-I don’t think I could make it.”

Alfred felt his heart sink at that response. “Why not?”

“I’ll... probably be busy... with work. No, I will be busy with work. Sorry but I’ll have to decline. Plus I doubt those children would want a bore of a man like me around.”

That sounded like an excuse he made up on the spot and Alfred could not help feel suspicious about it. “Well how about another time? We can meet up, can’t we?”

“I’m... er... that is...” Arthur couldn’t seem to form a sentence and he was looking around frantically. “Oh! I forgot, I g-got to water Beatrice over there! If y-you’ll excuse me.”

Watching him scramble off and snatching up a nearby watering can, Alfred was now certain that Arthur was making up excuses, it was ridiculously obvious. Why though? Did he not want to meet up? Why not? It didn’t make sense. Determined to get an answer Alfred followed Arthur, finding him watering some flowers whilst trying desperately to ignore him.

“Don’t you have a free day at all this week?” he asked.

“Did you know these flowers only bloom in certain conditions? You have to grow it with a particular fertiliser otherwise it won’t reach its full potential.”

Alfred scowled, annoyed that Arthur was now trying to change the topic. “Don’t you want to meet up? If you can’t afford to travel I can send you out some money.”

“Money isn’t an issue,” stated Arthur with a nervous laugh, “oh, I got to water Duncan, excuse me.”

Alfred sighed as Arthur dashed off again so he continued to follow him. “So then why don’t you want to meet up? We should’ve done it ages ago, I think we can arrange it.”

Arthur drummed his fingers along the watering can, biting his bottom lip as he tried to think of a reason. He wouldn’t even look at Alfred as he spoke. “I live in an isolated area, too far away from anywhere, it would take me days to reach any major city.”

That sounded like another terrible excuse. “I can send out a vehicle,” retorted Alfred.

“I need to tend to my garden, it could wilt away whilst I’m gone.”

“You’ll be gone for a day at most, it’ll be fine.”

“Y-Yes, but I have rare plants here that need constant attention.”

“Surely you can get someone to watch it whilst you’re away.”

“I can’t just let anyone tend to my garden.”

“I’m sure anyone could handle it.”

“I don’t think they could.”

Alfred couldn’t take it anymore, no matter what he said Arthur continued to come up with insane reasons as to why he couldn’t go. “Why don’t you want to come?”

Arthur didn’t look at him and he fiddled with the watering can in his hands. “It’s not that I don’t want to... I’d love to but-...”

“But why not? I want to meet you!”

That made Arthur look up but he appeared confused. “But we always meet-...”

“I mean for real,” explained Alfred desperately, “I want to meet you in person.”

Hearing this from Alfred made Arthur’s face suddenly glow a bright shade of red and he dropped the watering can, the contents spilling onto the grass. At first Alfred wasn’t certain why he was making such an expression or why he dropped the watering can until it suddenly dawned on him what he just said. His own cheeks began to flush and he opened his mouth to say something but he couldn’t. Why did he say that? Well it was what he wanted to say but now that he thought about it, it sounded really embarrassing. He meant it, he really did want to meet Arthur for real, but why did he feel strange about admitting it? His heart was beating so loud that he was afraid Arthur was going to hear it he had to say something, he had to clear the air up, he had to get rid of this awkward tension.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, another voice rang through the garden. “KIRKLAND!”

The pair of them looked up and Alfred glared at the individual who was approaching, the horrid man from before. Glancing over at Arthur he could see the dread building up in his eyes and at how tense his body got. He knew that he had told Arthur to stand up for himself but he also knew that it wasn’t enough, he was going to need some moral support.

Completely forgetting about that strange moment between them, Alfred jumped in front of Arthur, knowing the horrid man couldn’t see him. He snapped his fingers to get Arthur’s full attention and gave him a smile of confidence. “Ok, relax. Remember what we talked about? Don’t let this guy walk all over you, both figuratively and literally. Get angry if you need to! Scare him.”

“But-...”

“No buts!”

“Again with this farce?” The horrid man now stood before Arthur and he was looking particularly fed up. “Why is it that the moment I turn my back, you’re playing pretend yet again? This is your last warning Arthur.”

Arthur squeezed his own arm and tried not to cower. He quickly glanced over at Alfred, who gave him a couple of thumb ups of reassurance, before looking back at the man. “Apologies,” he said politely. “I was just thinking out loud.”

The man raised a single brow, he seemed to notice something was off. “Now, I’m having a special visitor coming. I take it I don’t need to tell you what I need?” 

“Yes, of course,” replied Arthur, doing a good job on keeping calm. “I just need to go get-...”

“No need.” The man then pulled out a pair of scissors from one of his pockets. Arthur made an “Oh” sound and reached for them but the man didn’t hand them over. “You don’t give me enough, I think it’ll be best if I take what I need from now on.”

Alfred noticed the mortified look on Arthur’s face. “Tell him no,” he demanded. “Tell him to go to hell!”

“Not now,” spat Arthur, forgetting the man was within ear shot.

“What do you mean by that?” The man looked irritated. “You know damn well why I need this.”

Arthur straightened himself out. “I-I mean, I’d prefer to cut my own hair if you don’t mind.” Alfred once again have him a thumbs up. 

The man looked angered at the subtle comeback and at first Alfred was worried he’d do something drastic. Thankfully he didn’t and he calmly handed over the scissors without uttering another word. So far it seemed to be going well, but Alfred had a hunch that this guy was unpredictable and he might do something in the next second, so he remained on his toes. He watched as Arthur snipped off some of his hair and reached out to hand it over.

However, just as the man took both the hair sample and scissors from Arthur with one hand, he used his other hand to grab Arthur’s wrist. “I see this healed up quickly,” he muttered, inspecting the hand that he had injured the other day, twisting it around and ignoring how uncomfortable it was making its owner.

Arthur was trying to hold in a wince of pain and Alfred knew that needed to quickly change. “Take your hand back! Pull it away! Punch him with it if you have to.” At first Arthur didn’t listen to him for he was too scared of the consequences, but when Alfred noticed at how tight the man held his wrist he shouted at Arthur once more. “I told you to pull it back,” he cried, right into Arthur’s ear.

It did the trick and Arthur flinched from the sudden scream in his ear and jerked his arm back, surprising the man. “Don’t shout in my ear,” hissed Arthur, discreetly glaring at Alfred.

“What did you say!?” The man was now angry with Arthur’s behaviour and stepped a little closer.

“Tell him to go screw himself,” instructed Alfred, who was now getting carried away and smiling like a madman. “Tell him his breath smells like mouldy cheese and dog crap mixed in a bowl of rotten eggs.”

“No,” snapped Arthur, who seemed to forget that only he could see and hear Alfred.

“No what!?” The man now looking both mad and bewildered.

Before Arthur could explain himself, Alfred jumped in again. “Tell him his nose is too big!”

“No way, now go away!”

“What did you just say to me!?”

“Say his hair is looks like a dead animal coated in grease!”

“You’re being ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous!? Me?”

“He really does look ridiculous, right Arthur?”

“I swear to god if you don’t stop-...”

“What is wrong with you Kirkland!?”

“He should look in the mirror and ask himself that.”

“Shut up!”

“Did you just tell me to shut up!? How dare you!”

“Aw, I think someone’s a little cranky! Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Arthur went red with rage, unable to deal with that wretched voice in his ear any longer as well as trying to focus his attention on one of them, and Alfred’s laughter only made it worse. “Shut up you idiot,” he shouted, stamping his foot down. “Why can’t you just shut your damn trap for one second! Can’t you see I’m in the middle of doing something? Do you not have a brain in that thick skull of yours? Do you have any idea how annoying your voice is!? It’s unbelievably rude what you’re doing and I swear to god if you do it again, I’m going to curse you with the darkest curse I know, and it’ll be so bad you’ll be wetting the bed out of fear every single damn night, you complete and utter idiotic twat!”

Arthur’s surprise rant stunned both Alfred and the horrid man, causing the pair of them to take a step back, his voice still echoing off the tall walls around them. Arthur himself just realised what he did and slapped a hand over his mouth, his face still red but now from embarrassment. He glanced over at Alfred first before looking at the other man, who was completely and utterly speechless. Nothing happened for a good minute and Alfred was a little worried as to what the man might do, starting to regret for pushing Arthur too far.

The man then scowled and raised a hand at Arthur. “Don’t you ever speak to me like that again!” And with that he stomped off.

Alfred watched him leave and couldn’t help but laugh, noticing that he was walking very fast. That was it? That was his retort after hearing all that? Arthur’s rant must’ve scared him or at the very least it shocked him so much he couldn’t even form a proper threat. It was prove that the man was clearly all bark and no bite and now that Arthur showed off his fangs, he took off with his tail between his legs whilst trying to maintain whatever dignity he had left.

Turning back to face Arthur, he couldn’t help but snort when he found him with his hand still plastered over his mouth and looking completely stunned after what he did. “Look at you,” chuckled Alfred, “you did it, you stood up to him.”

“I can’t believe I said that,” mumbled Arthur, still in shock.

“Did you see his face? He looked like he wet himself!”

“I can’t believe I said that,” repeated Arthur.

“And you scared me too! I thought you were being serious about the whole cursing thing!”

“I can’t believe I said that.”

“I knew you could do it! Nice going Arthur, I could hug you!”

Then without warning, Alfred opened his arms and tried to embrace him. Arthur flinched when he noticed the oncoming hug, but instead of grabbing him Alfred just phased through his body and fell flat on his face. 

“Argh... I forgot,” groaned Alfred as he pushed himself up, remembering that he couldn’t touch Arthur. 

It was then that he heard laughter. Looking up from the ground he found Arthur was no longer in complete and utter shock but he was now laughing his head off. Alfred wasn’t sure if it was to do with what he said to the horrid man or if it was to do with the fact that he failed to hug him, but seeing Arthur laugh like a child set him off, snorting before he exploded into a fit of giggles. The pair of them laughed louder than they ever had before, and they continued until they forgot what made them laugh in the first place.

—————————

Finishing his dinner, Alfred wiped his lips clean before he stretched out his arms and yawned. The sun had already set and the palace was starting to become silent as the staff finished up for the day. It had been a long day and despite not doing much, Alfred was now very tired and his belly was full, the young King now craving his soft bed. He thanked the stewards for their excellent service, requesting them to thank the chef on his behalf, and then took off for an early night.

He did take a book from the library with him, one that contained a vast knowledge of trees. Alfred was determined to figure out what trees Arthur was growing but there was no real rush, plus he kind of enjoyed the little game. Maybe he’d read it little before going to sleep if his eyes permitted him to do so.

“Going to bed already?”

Alfred bumped into Yao, who had a bundle of papers in his arms. “Are you still working?” snorted Alfred, a little concerned that Yao never really took a proper break. “You need to relax once in a while Yao, I can’t have my Jack getting overworked and stressed on me.”

“Oh these?” Yao held them up with a proud smile. “These are my recipes that I’m planning on publishing. I’ve just finished them.”

“I didn’t know you could cook,” gasped Alfred.

“Of course I can,” gloated Yao, “it’s my stress reliever believe it or not. Speaking of which, what have you been doing to relieve your stress?”

“My stress?”

Yao shrugged. “I’m not sure why but these past couple of days you seem to be more relaxed than you were a few months ago. Well whatever it is, I hope you stick to it.” With a yawn of his own, the Jack excused himself and went to retire for the evening.

Alfred bid him goodnight and as he continued to walk to his room he thought back to his time in Arthur’s garden and what Arthur said to him before he returned to the palace.

_“Maybe one day I’ll come visit you. I don’t mind the meetings we have now, but I too would like to meet you in person.”_

Remembering those words made Alfred smile and he looked forward to the day when he and Arthur would meet in person, and when they finally did he was going to give him that hug wether he wanted it or not.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features a little time skip, however the next few chapters are going to reveal some things that’ll hopefully clue you in to what’s going on. I’d loved to hear your theories :) it’ll let me know if I’m hiding my secret well.

The days seem to fly by but that week felt like it lasted a lifetime, not that it bothered Alfred though he only wished it would last longer, as well as the days or rather the time he spent in Arthur’s garden. On every single day of that long week Alfred would spend between one to two hours over in Arthur’s garden and every time he went there he’d wish that time would stand still so he could stay longer. Wether it happened in early the morning or late in the afternoon or even in the middle of the night, wether it happened before he tucked into a delicious meal or a sweet treat, Alfred was always happy to visit.

Arthur had just become another part of his life, it was like his own personal best friend that he didn’t have to share with anyone, and no one knew about him. He was just an interesting person to talk to, and despite his smug attitude and stubborn nature Alfred enjoyed their chats together. Sure they had their fair share of arguments but they always made up, and for some reason Alfred would actually enjoyed that part of their relationship. Arthur would always tell him interesting stories, teach him wonderful things about his plants, and just engage him in intense conversations that even someone like him could enjoy. He would show him plants and flowers he was growing when they were outside in the garden and when they were inside Arthur would either read him stories or try and teach him some skills in embroidery. Alfred would help boost his confidence with inspiring pep talks, tell him jokes that either irritated or got him laughing, and often tease him which eventually resulted in the pair of the teasing each other back and forth. However their time together would always end with the pair of them content with each other’s company.

When he wasn’t visiting Arthur, Alfred worked hard as a King. He kept on top with his work much to Yao’s relief, pushing himself to make the Kingdom run smoother than he ever could before. He went over the plans for the dinner party a few times, talked with his staff to make certain that everyone was happy with what they had to do, and finally decided on a winner regarding the dessert contest. He inspected all the guest rooms and went over the ceremonies that were planned for when they greeted the other Kings and their courts when they arrived. When he wasn’t doing planning out the dinner party, Alfred worked with all of the high ranking officials of his Kingdom, listening to the concerns of his people and working his arse off to get rid of those worries. Everything was going according to plan, with Yao overly satisfied with his work effort and his Kingdom was doing so much better than ever.

As the days passed Alfred would eagerly anticipate his next visit with Arthur, wondering what would occur during his visit. He eventually forgot about his own investigations and no longer took notes, and he didn’t seem to care as to how and why he went to the garden. Alfred found himself living in the moment and it soon came to pass that he found he couldn’t imagine a day without spending it in Arthur’s company. 

He only had one complaint; he wanted to meet Arthur for real. It still felt weird to him that he couldn’t even touch him or anything else in his garden, and could only assume it had to do with the fact he was randomly teleported there. He wasn’t certain where Arthur was in the world but he had to be somewhere, maybe on another continent or something as he did mention he lived in an isolated area. He had thought about asking Arthur but he never did, and he wasn’t certain why. Maybe it was out of fear that if he did learn where Arthur was he wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. 

Arthur had recently read him a story about a man whose goose laid golden eggs and then he got greedy and he cut open the goose to get more eggs, but there was nothing there and his goose was dead, so no more golden eggs. Arthur explained it was a moral; to be thankful for what you have. He told him many other stories like that but it was that particular one that stuck with Alfred. To him his visits with Arthur were like those golden eggs, so he wondered if he tried to figure out this mystery he’d end up killing the goose and loosing his golden eggs forever? Maybe for now he’d ignore the mystery and be thankful for what he had. It wasn’t as if it was hurting anyone.

The days continued to fly by and until the day arrived when Francis would return and stay until the dinner party. The palace staff were getting ready to welcome him and whilst Alfred waited for his arrival, he and Yao were inspecting the fair that was being set up in one of their large gardens. Stands were set up, vendors were getting their games ready and the rides were being inspected by safety inspectors. It looked like it was all ready to go, and now all it needed were the children to come and play.

“Makes me wish I was a kid again,” sighed Alfred as he gazed up at the Ferris wheel, wondering how fast it would go.

“Since when has that stopped you,” snorted Yao, “I know for certain you’re going to be on these rides more times than the actual children.”

Alfred laughed. “There’s no harm with unleashing your inner child once in a while.”

“Feh, with you that’s like ever other day.”

“Say, do you think they’d let me test out the rides first?”

“I suppose? Why not ask?”

Yao had meant it sarcastically but Alfred bolted off immediately, asking the ride operators if he give their attractions a royal inspection. They agreed with confident smiles, ensuring their King that all the rides had been inspected and were ready to go. So he tried them all out, with Yao begging him not to get sick and vomit as Francis was set to arrive in a couple of hours. He went on the mechanical bull, the carousel, the mini roller coaster, tried to get Yao to come with him on the bumper cars and succeeded much to the Jack’s displeasure, and then finally went on the Ferris wheel.

“You sure you don’t want to come, Yao?” he asked as the operator tightened his restraints.

Yao was still reeling from the bumper cars. “I’m fine,” he gagged, “you have fun.”

“Suit yourself.”

As the Ferris wheel took off and lifted him up towards the heavens, it gave Alfred the opportunity to appreciate the view of his palace and his Kingdom as he got higher, including the vast gardens that surrounded it. He didn’t realise how big the gardens were and he could not help but marvel at how beautiful they were, from where he was he could see all the variety of the plants, the trees and the colours of all the flowers. He doubted Arthur would be able to handle them all. Well maybe he could... or at the very least be stubborn about it, the thought of it made him smirk. At least the children were in for a treat when they rode this.

Lost in his thoughts he didn’t realise the Ferris wheel had stopped moving whilst he was still high up. He looked over to see the operator fumbling with the controls and apologising to Yao, who was suddenly looking irritated. 

The Jack looked up at him with a frown. “It got jammed,” he called out, “they’re just trying to fix it.”

Alfred rolled his eyes and huffed. “How long?” he shouted back.

“A few minutes at least. Let’s just hope they get you back down before the Diamond Court arrives.”

With no where to go until it was fixed Alfred leaned back in his seat and sighed. The last thing he wanted was for Francis to see him trapped on a Ferris wheel, he wouldn’t let him live it down and he’d probably tell the other Kings, so he could only sit tight and hope the engineers fixed it quick.

“Just my luck,” he sighed.

“It’s pretty up here, isn’t if Alfred?”

Alfred jerked up upon hearing the gentle voice coming from his left, and looked over to see, much to his shock, the mysterious little girl sitting next to him as if she had always been there. She smiled up at him, her eyes as mesmerising as they were before and was kicking her legs in the air like an ordinary child. “Hello again,” she said innocently.

“How did you get up here?” gasped Alfred, trying not to move too much to shake the seat.

The girl smiled at him and winked. “It’s a secret.”

It had been a while since he saw this strange little girl. The first time was in a scary dream and the second time she appeared in his room to talk to him about Arthur. He thought she was a ghost at first, but he was able to touch her after she made him pinky promise and she felt warm, whilst he was certain that ghosts were meant to be cold. He then started to assume that maybe she was a witch, it didn’t explain how she could appear out of thin air and there was something magical about her. The other interesting thing about her was that she seemed to know Arthur, though Arthur claimed he didn’t know her.

“Are you a witch or something?” blurted Alfred without even thinking.

“Nope,” giggled the girl. “I’m too pretty to be a witch.”

Alfred was now completely stumped. “Well... you can’t be human.”

“What makes you say that?”

He only just realised that the things he had been saying were rather offensive, even if he could be right, so he tried to be more civil. “It’s just you appeared in my dreams, you vanish into thin air, and there’s just something about you that doesn’t seem... human.”

The girl didn’t seem offended, thank god. “I see, it only makes sense. Say, did you enjoy your time with Arthur this morning?”

It did surprise Alfred that she knew that, so much that he didn’t realised she purposely changed the subject. He knew that she was aware he was seeing Arthur but he didn’t think she knew when. He did visit Arthur that morning where they chatted about random things, he cracked a joke about his eyebrows, Arthur criticised his eating habits, and he made his 125th attempt at guessing the name of the special trees, which he failed. 

“How did you know I went this morning?” he demanded.

“Can’t tell,” giggled the girl.

Alfred huffed and folded his arms, his desire to seek some answers kicking in. “You know, Arthur claims he doesn’t know you.”

“Well it’s true.”

“So how come you know him?”

“Because I do.”

Alfred ruffled his own hair, wondering what he should ask and if he did ask, would she answer or give him an answer that made sense? “Do... you know where he is?”

“In his garden.”

“I mean-... where is he in the world?”

“Oh,” the girl pondered on that for a moment. “Where he’s always been and that’s all you need to know, right?” What did that even mean? The girl could see he was confused and tried to elaborate. “I know you want to see him and I want you to see him too, but this is the best I can do.”

That made Alfred sit up and he stared at her with wide open eyes. “Wait... just wait a second...” He leaned in close towards the girl and his heart began to thump hard against his chest. “You’re... the one who sends me there?

The girl’s expression didn’t change as she answered him. “Not me exactly... I get help.”

“From who?” Alfred had never felt so eager to learn as much as he could from this girl.

“I... my friends helped me...” The girl suddenly appeared to be sad about something. “I can’t tell you anymore than that.”

“Why not?” Alfred tried not to snap but he was getting tired of getting half answered answers

The girl sighed sadly. “Because if I give you all the answers now, you won’t be able to do it.”

“Do what?”

“What needs to be done.”

Alfred wanted to ask her what that meant, he wanted to ask her why she was doing this, he wanted to ask her what her end goal was. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her... but he couldn’t because he knew she was just going to repeat what she just said. It was like this damn Ferris wheel, he was just going round in circles with her. In defeat he slumped forward and sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry Alfred.” The girl placed her small hand upon Alfred’s, the warmth he felt from it was incredibly soothing. “I promise you’ll have all the answers soon, just please promise me you’ll continue to have fun with Arthur. You make him so happy.”

Alfred stared at her with weary eyes. She sounded as sincere as always but why did she care about Arthur so much? Arthur didn’t even know her and she seemed to be aware of this. “What’s your deal with Arthur? I mean, what do you get out of this?”

The girl closed her eyes and bore a calming smile. “I simply want to grant his wish.”

His wish? That was what she was after? Arthur’s wish? Although it seemed outlandish he couldn’t help but grow more curious about it. “What does he wish for?”

“He doesn’t know his wish,” chuckled the girl, “like most people who don’t know what their own heart desires above all else, Arthur doesn’t even know what he wants most in the world. No one truly knows what their own deepest wish is, but I’ve seen Arthur’s heart and I know what it is.”

“What... is it?”

The girl giggled once again and placed a single finger upon Alfred’s lips. “Now Alfred, it’s not polite to ask what other people’s wishes are, they might not come true.” 

That was true, or at least that was what he was raised to believe. Maybe he shouldn’t pry but he couldn’t help but wonder what Arthur desired above all else. If this girl could see what everyone’s deepest wishes, he wondered if she could see his and he wondered what it could be. Right now the only wish he could think of was to get all of his unanswered questions answered, but he doubted that she’d actually grant it.

“I’ll be going shortly,” announced the girl suddenly, shifting about in her seat and yawning a little, “but I will visit again, I promise.”

“Um,” Alfred wanted to know as much as he could from this girl, but his mind suddenly went blank and he couldn’t think of anything. “I... I never got your name!” It was the first thing he could think of. “I think it’s weird that I can only refer to you as the mystery girl.”

“My name?” The girl seemed surprised at first but then she playfully smiled up at him, her eyes filling with mischief. “Guess,” she declared.

“Guess!? Oh come on,” groaned Alfred.

Before he could even think of a name that would even fit the girl’s persona, the Ferris wheel started moving again, jerking a little before Alfred found he was slowly returning to the safety of the ground. He looked over but to his disappointment he found that the girl was gone yet again.

“Enjoy your time up there?” Yao waited for him at the bottom with a subtle smile of relief. As the operators unrestrained their King from the seat, the Jack couldn’t help but notice a change in his mood. He didn’t seem as cheery as he was before. “Did getting stuck up there upset you or something?”

Alfred sighed and shook his head, unsure of what to say. “No, no... sorry I had some time to... think up there.” He couldn’t tell Yao that a little girl suddenly appeared next to him, he’d think he was suffering from altitude sickness or something. 

That made Yao smile for some reason. “Ah, you were reflecting on some thoughts?”

“That’s what I just said,” mumbled Alfred, trying to get back into a more cheery mood but he just felt so confused right now. “Anyway, lets get ready to greet Francis and co.”

Yao opened his mouth to say something but didn’t, the Jack assuming that his King has delved into some deep thoughts whilst he was trapped up there, and he probably needed some time to clear his head. After the operators apologised to the pair of them and thank them for their patience, Alfred and Yao headed back to the palace to prepare for Francis’ arrival. Alfred glanced over his shoulder at the Ferris wheel one last time before looking forward.

——————————————

The sun seemed to shining much brighter than before as Alfred stood upon the decorated steps that lead up to his palace. Beside him stood Yao, looking as dignified as always, and all around them were royal guards and the welcoming party, all of them awaiting the arrival of their esteemed guests. They had just received word that the Diamond King’s carriage had just entered the city, meaning that had at least another ten to five minutes before it arrived before them.

It gave Alfred time to reflect on some things, such as what he had learnt from the mysterious girl. She had revealed that she, along with some friends of hers, were the ones who were sending him to Arthur’s garden. Her reason for doing so was to simply grant Arthur’s wish, but why? It couldn’t be that simple. On top of that she continued to withhold information from him, claiming that if she revealed everything, he wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done. What did that even mean? What was it that needed to be done? Could it have something to do with that door?

In fact another question popped into his mind, a question that he regretted not asking her. How was she doing it? How was she sending him to some part of the world without anyone realising it?

He was knocked out of his thinking when Yao nudged him, the guardsmen standing to attention as a distant sound of hooves began to get louder and louder. The welcoming committee started up the band and the guardsmen readied their routine. Within moments a carriage driven by silver white horses entered the palace’s courtyard, with one lone rider near the front and two other riders on the rear. The carriage was beautifully decorated with orange and silver colours contemplating each other perfectly, it’s base material looked like it was made of raw gems and it sparkled in the sunlight that it nearly blinded Alfred. The symbol of the Diamond Kingdom was placed upon the side of it and it looked like it had been carved out of an actual diamond. Even the reins of the horses looked like they were made out of jewels, and the uniforms of the carriage driver and the Diamond guardsmen looked like it had been made from the finest materials man could make. The Diamond Kingdom was infamous for it’s unending wealth so it made sense that they would go all out with the decor.

It came to a halt right at the base of the steps and the lone rider, who Alfred realised was the Diamond Jack Basch, hopped off his proud steed and walked up to the carriage and opened the it’s door. Within seconds a familiar face stepped out of the carriage, his golden locks shimmered in the sunlight, his blue eyes looked as blue as the sea, his regal clothing almost put Alfred’s own clothing to shame, and his handsome face was making even some of the guardsmen weak in the knees. As always Francis the Diamond King was the centre of attention and he wasn’t even trying.

“Bonjour mon ami,” he cried out, waving up at Alfred with a wink.

As he casually greeted Alfred, Basch held out his hand and another hand from within the carriage took it, and out of the carriage came the Erika the Diamond Queen, still as pretty and gentle as ever. Once the three main Diamond court members were presented they bowed, or curtsied in Erika’s case, and both Alfred and Yao bowed back. Once the pleasantries were out the way, Francis trotted up the steps and embraced Alfred, kissing him on both cheeks.

“It’s nearly been a month but you’ve grown quite a bit,” he chuckled.

“Nice to see you too Francis.” Alfred didn’t mind the way Francis greeted him, he just didn’t enjoy the scruffy sensation of his beard against his cheeks. “How was the trip?”

“A few bumps on the road but nothing we couldn’t handle,” replied the Diamond King with a proud smile.

After greeting the Diamond Queen, and after Yao instructing the servants to carry their luggage, the two Kings walked and talked as they made their way to the room where Francis, Erika and Basch would be staying in.

“You know, the road we take gives us a splendid view of the Forest of Eternity,” stated Francis suddenly. “My poor Queen is actually quite terrified of that place.”

Before Alfred could replied, Erika suddenly cut in. “I’m not terrified of it, it’s just during my conversations with Elizabeta, she told me that the Club Kingdom uses it as a form of capital punishment.”

“Capital punishment?” Alfred wasn’t fond about the whole subject but he was intrigued as to how and why the Club Kingdom used a forest as a form of punishment.

“Oh you know the stories, mon ami. They say the moment you walk into that forest you can never leave.” Francis pushed some of his hair back from his face. “The forest spans so far across the continent that it stretches into each and every kingdom. It barely sits upon the borders of the Diamond Kingdom and it actually takes up a small but significant amount of land in the Heart Kingdom. Since the Club Kingdom is so vast they actually have a large section of it in their territory.”

“So they just send their criminals in there?” Alfred frowned as it didn’t sound that bad of a punishment.

“Qui, and they never come out.” Francis then flashed a wicked smile. “Can you imagine their minds slipping into madness as they desperately try to find a way out? How they must wander around for an eternity until they’re too weak to move? There are even legends of terrifying beasts that lurk within those woods that eat a man whole!”

Erika made a small squeak of fear and Basch glared up at his King. “Could you refrain from scaring the Queen,” he spat viciously.

Francis chuckled and held his hands up in an apologetic manner. “Sorry, sorry, I could not resist. How about we change the topic?”

That was probably for the best as Alfred was also starting to feel a little scared. He had heard tales of the Forest of Eternity before but he wasn’t interested in them so much, but after hearing Francis’ tale he started to feel dread towards it. The idea of being trapped in a place you could never leave was actually a horrific idea, and he knew that Ivan the Club King could be cruel when it came to punishing those who wronged him.

“You know Alfred, there is something different about you,” said Francis out of the blue.

“Me?” What could that be? He had grown a few more centimetres but he didn’t think it was noticeable.

Francis seemed to think so and he was staring at him with intense eyes, as if he was trying to figure it out. “Hmm, not sure what it could be... or maybe I do? Ah well, I’ll figure it out soon.”

Alfred raised a single brow, wondering what Francis was talking about but shrugged it off for now, continuing to escort his guests to their room.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t in my A game when writing this chapter :( This chapter was just for Alfred to confide in Francis.

After getting the Diamond court settled in, Alfred and Francis took a small walk through one of the gardens so that they could catch up with each other. There wasn’t that much that had happened to Francis during his last visit apart from the usual stuff he had to put up with in his Kingdom. He recently taste tested a selection of century old wine, oversaw the latest addition to his sea fleet, was a judge in a high profile fashion contest, commissioned a new college for the Art society, and continued to enchant any lovely lady or man who caught his eye. Basch did an excellent job as always as the Jack, his strict nature and his attention to detail almost put Yao’s own personality to shame. Queen Erika’s presence continued to ease her people’s worries, she was always visiting the farmers on the outskirts of their kingdom to thank them for their efforts, performed her royal duties in her unique and graceful manner, and continued to support numerous charities. The Diamond Kingdom sounded as if it was doing very well, as always and Alfred commended Francis for his ongoing success.

“And what about you, mon ami?” Francis seemed keen to know how Alfred had been faring. “I have heard a few interesting stories of late, including how you didn’t take with a certain young lady.”

“Oh that?” Alfred chuckled nervously as he ran a hand through his hair, not realising that the news of his and the Hamilton girl unsuccessful hook up would reach the Diamond Kingdom. “I wasn’t interested and neither was she, thank god. I mean, I didn’t want her in tears so I was glad we both come to the same conclusion.”

Alfred tried to laugh it off but Francis was gazing at him with a hint of curiosity. “I see, but why? I mean, why didn’t you take with her? Was she not your type? Was she too dull? Or... is there someone else?”

Alfred almost tripped over himself and he coughed loudly, Francis taking a note of the reaction. “W-what? Of course not. She and I were just not interested in each other.”

“Really?” Francis didn’t seem convinced. “You turned down a fine lady just like that for no other reason? I’ve spoken with her once and even I could not resist her charms.”

“Yes,” huffed Alfred, folding his arms and pouting. He forgot that Francis had an annoying habit of trying to stick his nose into his private life.

Francis smiled mischievously. “Forgive me Alfred, but I just can’t help but notice that something is different about you. What have you been doing since our last meeting?”

Alfred paused for a moment and wondered if he should tell Francis about Arthur and the garden. Yao didn’t believe him and assumed that these strange trips of his were nothing more than stress. He knew that it was an insane story which was why he decided to investigate himself, but maybe Francis would have an idea. He was a King after all, and maybe he might know something. That and he just happened to be a really good friend.

He ushered Francis into a small part of the garden where they sat down upon a white bench, far away from prying eyes and curious ears. “Promise you won’t think I’m insane or joking,” pleaded Alfred.

That made Francis raise both his brows. “Ok,” he agreed casually, leaning back as he folded his arms and crossed his legs.

Alfred took a deep breath and started from the very beginning. He told Francis of how he woke up one night and found himself in a room that was not his with a man he didn’t know. How he thought he fell asleep during a planning meeting but instead returned to the same room with the same man, learning that he couldn’t interact with anything in that room and learnt that the man’s name was Arthur. He assumed it was some strange dream until his third visit during an argument with his staff over floral arrangements, when Arthur revealed he was growing a beautiful garden surrounded by tall stone walls. That nearly every single day he’d go there for an hour or two and when he returned to the palace no time had passed. He even spoke of the strange little girl, who was probably the one sending him there, the strange dreams and the silver door bound by chains. He told Francis everything he knew, hoping that the Diamond King would have some idea what was happening to him.

He was half expecting for Francis to pull an amused face, to snicker or at least smirk at him for his bizarre tale, but Francis just sat there and listened. It appeared he was now deep in thought but he looked confused more than anything, and it looked like he didn’t have any answers for Alfred. Did he believe him though? Or was he just going to humour him? Once Alfred was done explaining everything he waited for Francis to say something, anything to at least confirm to Alfred that he wasn’t insane. Francis sat in silence for a while, as if he was soaking in everything that had just been said to him.

“It’s... a very interesting story,” he said at last.

Alfred’s heart sank at the not so encouraging response. “You don’t believe me?”

Francis shook his head. “No, no, I mean who am I to say if it is true or not. You don’t look like a madman and from what I’m hearing you’re running your kingdom well, and you don’t sound like you’re lying... I just find it almost hard to believe.”

At least Francis sounded sincere and wasn’t trying to patronise him. Still he had hoped Francis would have some idea what this all was, despite how he acted like an old flirt half the time, he was actually a very wise person. Even the other Kings, though they’ll never admit, sought his advice when it was needed.

“However...” Alfred raised his head up hopefully when Francis spoke. “I believe I recall someone mentioning to me about... no, no, they can’t be connected.”

“What?” Alfred scooted closer, hoping it was something of value.

“Well... I can’t quite recall who told me but... I remember someone mentioning something about a silver-...”

“Door?”

“No, no... what was it? A silver chest... yes that’s it, a silver chest.”

Alfred fell back against the chair. A silver chest? Not a silver door? It didn’t sound like they connected at all, apart from the material.

“I can’t remember who told me, but it’ll come to me eventually,” promised Francis with a shrug.

Alfred still felt glum. “I was hoping you’d know something about this, about why this is happened to me. I don’t know who else to ask and I hoped you’d have some sort of clue.”

“I wish I did, but I’ve never heard of someone disappearing without anyone noticing and ending up in some fantasy garden and meeting a man, who I might add sounds like an uncouth person. And if it is indeed this strange little girl you speak of, why don’t you ask her-...”

“I did,” groaned Alfred, “but she won’t tell me. She says if she does then I won’t be able to do what needs to be done.”

“What needs to be done?”

“I have no idea what she’s on about.”

“No... I mean... I could’ve sworn I heard that phrase before.”

Alfred looked up once more. “You have?”

Francis thought hard but he couldn’t seem to think of where he heard the phrase before. “Argh, my memory has been terrible lately,” he sighed, “but Alfred, if you are indeed going to find the way to stop going there-...”

“No! I mean, I don’t want to stop going there.

Now Francis looked really confused. “How... come? I thought you said you were going against your will?”

“I am, but I don’t want to stop going,” confessed Alfred with a sheepish smile. “I mean I’m not hurting anyone, it’s like a I get a few extra hours in the day and going there actually puts me in a better mood. Plus there is another reason...”

“And that is?” Francis was looking intrigued.

Alfred didn’t realise he was blushing a little as he explained. “The man who lives there, Arthur, I kinda want to meet up with him for real.”

Francis was trying to contain a grin from spreading across his face and he leaned a little closer. “And why is that?”

“B-because he’s my friend and it feels weird that I can’t... you know... shake his hand, or poke him when he makes fun of me, or give him a pat of the back when he needs it, or give him a hug-...”

“Or kiss him?”

“Or kiss him-... NO!? Don’t put words in my mouth, you jerk!”

Francis laughed and slapped his own knee. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It’s just that you looked so enchanted when you speak of this Arthur.”

Alfred tried to force his cheeks to stop glowing red. “I-it’s not like that, he’s just a really good friend!”

“Just a friend?”

“Yes!”

“Well I hope to meet him someday I judge for myself.” Francis once again pushed his hair out of his face. “Anyway as your friend, all I can say is if you need any assistance regarding this strange phenomenon I’ll be more than happy to help. I don’t know if you’re being teleported or what, but I think if we bump heads together we can figure it out. It sounds like fun anyway.”

That was at least reassuring to hear. Francis didn’t at all think he was making up a tall tale, though he did admit he found it strange to believe and who could blame him? If it had been the other way around even Alfred would find it hard to swallow, he was just thankful that Francis wasn’t questioning his health.

“However,” said Francis suddenly, “as a King I would advise you refrain yourself from telling the other Kings about this. Ludwig is a no nonsense type of fellow and you know what Ivan is like, and even though you say it’s harmless there is always a chance it all might take a dark turn, and if it does you best be prepared.”

This was some solid advice. Ludwig was someone who couldn’t tolerate such bizarre things and Ivan would use this as an opportunity to make him look bad. He couldn’t see how visiting Arthur could make things worse, but he took Francis’ advice to be prepared. It still didn’t give him any answers, though apparently Francis had heard that certain phrase before, the one the girl always told him.

“So, this mysterious girl? She’s the one who sends you there, apparently? Why though?”

Alfred shrugged. “The only clue she gave me that she simply wanted to fulfil Arthur’s wish and I don’t even know what that could be.”

“A wish? How cute, I wish someone went to that effort to grant one of mine.”

Alfred smirked at that comment but wondered why indeed was the girl going to such lengths to grant a wish for someone who didn’t even know her? After talking about it some more within the small garden and confident that Francis believed in him somewhat, Alfred took Francis to his office and showed off the whiteboards filled with everything he had recorded about the whole thing. It did look messy at first glance so Alfred had to connect the dots for Francis, explaining every single thing once again in greater detail. It took a good ten minutes until he finally finished. Francis did commend him for keeping track and for prioritising the Kingdom above all else, though he could help but notice a few things that Alfred had failed to mention before.

“You called a Joker?”

“Yeah,” admitted Alfred, “and what a waste of time he was.”

“I take it was Gilbert?” Francis rolled his eyes. “Out of the pair of them I swear he enjoys messing people about more than I enjoy a glass of vintage merlot. I take it he confused you more than he did help?”

Alfred nodded. “The only thing he revealed to me was how the last Queen of Spades mysteriously died.” He couldn’t help but shiver as the memory of that shrivelled corpse resurfaced in his mind. “And he revealed it in a way that left me with a sleepless night!”

Now that caught Francis’ attention. “She died mysteriously? Hmm, according to the archives your father shared with me she died of a natural causes, no?” Francis had actually seen the research that Alfred’s father had done regarding the mystery of the Queen of Spades, so he actually knew a few things, including everything recorded about the last Queen. He was probably the only person alive who knew so much regarding the mystery.

“Not according to what the Joker told me, and Joker’s never lie.”

Francis couldn’t disagree to that even if he wanted to. “That’s interesting... how did she die?”

Alfred really didn’t want to go over it but he knew he had to in order to give his friend the full story. He told Francis every gruesome detail, from her agonising screaming to her rotting flesh, trying not to picture it so graphically. It was enough to make poor Francis gag.

“I’m surprised you didn’t get any nightmares.”

“I did! No thanks to that blasted Joker.”

Francis held back a smirk and put his thinking cap on. “Interesting though, if that was indeed how she died, why was it covered up?”

Alfred had no answer to that. “Maybe because the Kingdom would freak if the learnt how their Queen really died.”

“It’s irresponsible,” huffed Francis suddenly, “this could’ve been a vital clue into the mystery surrounding your missing Queen and some people from long ago decide to pretend it never happened? There should’ve been an investigation, not a cover up.” Francis went silent for a moment. “There was nothing about this mentioned in your historical archives, if your father had known about this it might’ve clued him in on something.”

Alfred was a little surprised to see how angry Francis was all of a sudden as he was usually so calm and composed. Then again he had known Alfred’s father and he knew first hand at how hard he worked to solve the mystery of the Queen. To learn that a possible vital clue had been hidden away without his knowledge must’ve felt devastating.

“Hiding your history, no matter how grotesque, is irresponsible and is an insult to the future generations, it’s the only way we can learn from our past and prevent future mistakes.” Francis stared at the whiteboards and sighed heavily. “I’m not sure if it could’ve helped in your father’s research, but it still was something that was worth noting. What kind of idiot would hide that?”

“Well... I know now,” sighed Alfred as he planted his hands on his hips, “and if it does clue me in on why we no longer have a Queen, then I can overlook the nightmare fuel.”

Upon saying that Francis suddenly appeared both amazed and shocked. “You mean you’re actually looking for a Queen now?”

Alfred had almost forgotten that the last time he spoke with Francis he had told him he wasn’t interested in finding a Queen, and during that time he had changed his mind. “I might as well,” admitted Alfred, “like you said, I can’t go to sail without a navigator.”

Francis was overjoyed and couldn’t resist hugging Alfred, much to his protests.

So they sat in that office and talked until the sun was close to setting, discussing what Alfred’s father knew, what Alfred knew himself and what new leads this piece of information could lead them to. It re-enforced a curse theory that Francis originally came up with, even though there was no such curse should affect the lineage of the four Kingdoms which was why that theory was often overlooked. In the notes that Alfred’s father recorded he had asked the Joker if it was indeed a curse and the Joker responded with, “depends on how you look at it.” Alfred rolled his eyes, knowing now that a Joker was no real help. Still Francis took note of it, reminding Alfred that Joker’s will never give you the answer you want unless you ask the right question. He could only assume that whilst they looked at it as a curse it might not actually be one, they just had to figure out what made it look like a curse.

They went on and on until Yao knocked at the door to remind them that dinner was ready, and berating the pair of them for leaving such a mess in the office. They continued to chat as they headed to the dining room, even during their meal the two Kings talked, pausing every now and then to speak with Erika as so not to exclude her and make her feel left out. They debated back and forth, tossing new theories and ideas as to why the Spade Kingdom has no Queen, with Alfred barely touching his food as he was so engaged. They kept going until Erika excused herself to retire for the night and even then the two Kings talked and talked until at last Francis suggested something.

“Could your mystery trips to this garden of yours be connected somehow?”

Alfred tilted his head out of confusion. “To the Queen mystery?”

Francis shrugged. “Maybe? Who knows, it was just an idea. I don’t recall your father mentioning anything about being transported to a strange garden during his time... I just thought they could be related somehow.”

“I.. actually never thought about that,” mused Alfred.

Could his trips to the garden have something to do with the Queen? They didn’t seem related... or maybe Arthur knew something? Maybe he knew something about the missing Queen or maybe he knew why there wasn’t one. He was so knowledgeable about many things and he actually claimed to know a few things about curses, maybe he had an idea as to what happened to the Spade Queen. He had to remind himself to ask him during their next visit.

It eventually grew late and both Alfred and Francis called it a night, with the young King’s mind full of new ideas and thoughts regarding the mystery of the missing Queen and it’s possible connection to Arthur. He was also glad that Francis was helping him, his advice always helping calm the troubled waters in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, two chapters without Arthur... he’s back in the next one ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I mentioned Arthur would return in this chapter but I couldn’t quite work him in as this one got a little too dark. Anyway sorry for delay, I’ve been busy with work :)

Watching the children run about the fairground was making Alfred feel like a little kid again, and he was doing everything in his power not to join in with them. All the rides were working including the Ferris wheel, and every single child looked like they were having a blast. They ran around with balloons and sweets, watched the entertainers in awe, and screamed in delight as they rode the attractions. Alfred himself was thanked by the teachers and the parents, and even the children ran up to him and begged him to carry him. They had heard of his legendary strength and soon Alfred had four children dangling off each of his arms. The Diamond court also made an appearance, with Erika getting surrounded by young children who were keen to see her and Basch watched over her to make certain she wouldn’t get overwhelmed. Francis was, as usual, surrounded by people who couldn’t resist his charms, and even some children commented on how pretty he was, making Alfred a little jealous.

Yao had chosen to remain inside as he couldn’t handle the screaming children, plus he wanted to go over the plans for when the other Kings and their courts arrived. Alfred thought it was for the best as Yao could get quite scary around children. In fact Basch himself was starting to glare viciously at some kids who were tugging too hard at Erika’s dress, his overprotective nature was both adorable and intimidating. Erika just looked like she was having fun as she spoke with children and walked around with them, although she did protest when they tried to drag her on a roller coaster. Alfred couldn’t resist laughing as Basch had to rescue her and aided by distracting the kids with some ice cream.

The whole fair was going great and the smiles he saw was enough to let Alfred know he did a good job. He took a quick break by sitting down whilst eating a toffee apple, waving to some of the children who waved over at him and he smiled as he watched the children continue to scream and run a mock without a care in the world. With a sigh Alfred couldn’t help but wonder what if Arthur had managed to come. Would he tell the children stories? Go on the rides with them? Eat some of the treats? Alfred wished he could’ve come but no matter how he pleaded Arthur insisted that he couldn’t, he could only promise that one day he’d visit. When would “one day” come?

“I have to say this is one of the best fairs I’ve ever visited outside my Kingdom,” laughed Francis, approaching Alfred with a glass of lemonade in his hand. “The ones we hold cater to both children and adults, but even an adult can enjoy this one.”

“What can I say,” boasted Alfred, “I know how to party.”

“There’s no denying that. Every party or function you ever hosted has always left me impressed, which is why I’m eager for the annual dinner party.”

“Trust me, it will.”

The loud cries of children from the Ferris wheel caught their attention and Francis smirked. “I heard you got trapped up on that Ferris wheel yesterday,” he chuckled, “that would’ve made my day seeing you stuck up there.”

Alfred rolled his eyes, figuring that Yao must’ve told him that. “I had to test it to make sure the kids would be safe.”

“And not for your own amusement?”

“...a little.”

“I swear you’re just a child with an adult body.”

Alfred bit into his treat as Francis continued to tease him. After swallowing it down he noticed a group of children were standing nearby and staring at him with eager eyes. They seemed nervous and were debating amongst themselves wether to approach or not, some of them pushing others to get closer. Alfred smirked and ushered them over.

“C’mon kids, what are you after? Another ride on my arms? Want to see me bench press the Diamond King here?” That made Francis gulp.

The children sheepishly approached and one of them stepped out of the group. “M-mister King sir? Um... We was wondering... we... um...” The child shuffled where he stood.

“C’mon kid, you can talk to me,” insisted Alfred with a gentle smile, “what’s the matter?”

The child looked up, back at his friends, and then back at Alfred. “We learned at school that you can summon a Joker.” Alfred raised a brow and his smile slowly vanished when he realised where this was going. “The teacher says they can do all sorts of magic tricks. C-can you call one?” asked the child. The other children joined in and pleaded with Alfred to summon a Joker.

“N-now kids,” began Alfred as he stood up and put on his serious persona, “Jokers are no joke.”

“Pleeeeease,” begged the children.

Alfred cringed as he had a weakness for puppy dog eyes and looked to Francis for support. “I would advise against it,” he said bluntly. “Jokers are unpredictable and it wouldn’t look good if you let one loose with children around.”

“Sorry kids but it’s a no,” proclaimed Alfred, “now who wants to ride the Ferris wheel?”

The children looked disappointed and didn’t budge from where they stood. Alfred hated disappointing people, especially kids but he couldn’t call a Joker with them around. Yao would be furious and he doubted the children's parents would be thrilled to learn their King unleashed one in their very presence. That and he didn’t want them to experience what he went through the last time he summoned one.

One girl stuck her hand up. “How do you call one?”

“Oh, it’s easy,” insisted Alfred, “but only the members of the four courts can do it.”

“How?” asked the girl again. “What do you have to do?”

“Simple, I place my hand over my insignia, like so,” explained Alfred as he placed his hand upon his chest, not realising that Francis was looking alarmed, “and then I say; knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

The children suddenly gasped with delight and Francis groaned in dismay. Alfred froze when he realised what he was duped into, what he fell for like a stupid idiot. How the hell did he fall for such a trick? Was it even a trick or did he just do something really, really stupid? He wasn’t even thinking when he performed the summon. He suddenly felt a weight upon his shoulders, as if someone was standing right on top of him. He slowly peered upwards to find a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at him with a mischievous grin.

“C’mon now yer majesty, it ain’t polite to keep me waitin’ y’know.”

Alfred blinked and said, “The King is Spades?”

A small body hopped off his shoulders and flipped in the air, landing before the group of awestruck children.

“Be amazed you lot for it is I, Peter the Joker! Now praise me and tell me how great I am!” The children began to cheer and clap whilst the Joker bowed and soaked in their praise.

Alfred could only stare in horror at what he had accidentally unleashed, though he had to admit that this Joker was a lot shorter compared to Gilbert and didn’t appear that intimidating. This one looked like a child and even bore the innocent face of one, but as a King he could sense the power of the Joker radiating from his small build. His clothes were almost similar to the previous Joker but he wore shorts so he could openly display his insignia which was below his left knee.

“Alfred!” hissed Francis, who quickly dashed over to his side, “what did you do?”

“They tricked me!” Alfred hissed back. “I wasn’t thinking! I didn’t realise what I was going until I did it!”

“Stop making excuses and get rid of him before he causes trouble! This one is a real troublemaker!”

“He’s just a kid.”

“He may look like a child but he’s not so innocent. He’s a troublemaker, plain and simple. The last time he was in my Kingdom he turned my dining room into a barnyard. Do you have any idea how long it took to get rid of the stench!?”

Alfred groaned and noticed that the Joker’s appearance was attracting more children and the attention of some adults. “Ok kids you met a Joker, now it’s time to send him away.”

The kids all moaned in unison and the Joker glared up at him and pouted. “I only just got here,” he huffed, “I don’t like it when bratty Kings waste my time.”

That struck a nerve with Alfred. “Who are you calling a brat!?”

The Joker cackled. “Aw c’mon Alfy, how about one quick game?”

“No, no games!”

The children moaned again and the Joker used it to fuel Alfred’s fear of disappointing them. “Some host you are,” he scoffed, “I just wanted to play a quick game, it’s not every day I get to play with kids my age.”

Francis sneered at the Joker. “You’re older than all of these children put together, and you’re still so very short.”

Apparently this Joker was sensitive about his age and his height and he suddenly brandished a paint gun, firing a single shot at Francis’ silk shirt. Francis shrieked at his ruined shirt whilst the children erupted into laughter. Even Alfred was trying to hold back a snort of laughter, unable to deny that was actually funny.

“Alfred, get rid of him now,” snapped Francis, desperately wiping away the paint stain. “He loves to do this kind of thing, he’s a little menace!”

“Yes Alfy, listen to the giant frog,” giggled Peter.

“You shut your mouth, you brat!” barked Francis.

“You can’t make me.”

“I can damn well try!”

As Peter and Francis argued back and forth, the children began to laugh uncontrollably at the scene that unfolded and Alfred felt really uncomfortable. Already adults were looking concerned and he noticed Brasch looking really agitated and was already marching over with Erika following close behind. Alfred decided to end this fast as the last thing he wanted was to upset the Diamond court and start a major political mess.

“Ok, Peter was it? That’s enough, now apologise to Francis here and get going.”

The Joker held up his hands. “Hold up there Alfy, I know I can be a bit of a pain and make a little mess from time to time, but all I want is to play a game with these here kids. They came for fun and fun I can provide.”

Alfred didn’t really want to risk it. “Sorry but-...”

“Wait, wait, wait,” pleaded Peter, rushing over to grab Alfred round the waist. “If you let me I can tell you something about your missing Queen.”

Upon hearing that Alfred froze up. It was like he was offered a silver platter but it was being given to him by a hungry wolf. “You Jokers never give answers that easily.”

“Aw come on,” whined Peter, “I promise that not a single child here will come to any harm. It’s just one game and you can play too. I’m nothing like Gilbert, he likes to terrorise whilst I just wanna have fun.”

“Oh please,” sneered Francis, “What could you possibly tell us that we don’t already know?”

The Joker rolled his eyes and sighed. “How about this then? I’ll give you two pieces of information; one now and one later. Since I’m such a good sport I’ll give you one right now.” Before Alfred could even utter a single word, the young Joker pulled out a single card with the mark of the Spade Kingdom and threw it over to Alfred. Upon grabbing it Peter suddenly hopped up and whispered into Alfred’s ear.

“There was a cover up regarding the Spade Queen, and let’s just say my pal Gilbert was involved.”

Alfred eyes widened and he looked back at the Joker. “What?”

“Now, now, if you want to know more then let’s play a game, the kids are waiting and so am I.”

Alfred looked back at the card, then back at the Joker, and then over at Francis. He held up a finger and said, “one sec,” before he dashed over and pulled the Diamond King into a private conversation.

“You can’t actually consider this,” hissed Francis, “Jokers are not things I’d want around children, imagine how he would influence them.”

“Yeah, I know,” agreed Alfred in a low voice, “but he said that there was a cover up involving the Queen.”

“We know that already.”

“Yeah but that the other Joker was involved.”

That caught Francis’ full attention. “Gilbert? That... that can’t be right. Jokers can’t just get rid of a member of the court like that. Yes they cause a little chaos around us but getting rid of us is like getting rid of their purpose in life.”

“Well he seemed pretty ecstatic when he showed me how the last Queen died, maybe he was showing off his handiwork?”

“Jokers don’t kill Alfred.”

“Then how could he be involved?”

The obvious solution was to summon Gilbert and ask him directly, but getting an answer out of him was hard work, that and they already have another Joker on the field. If he was indeed involved then what did he do? Was he the reason the Spade Kingdom lacked a Queen? There was only one way to find out and that was to go along with Peter the Joker’s little game. If he was willing to give him some vital information regarding the mystery of the Queen then he knew he had to take it, but at the risk of the children? Joker’s weren’t allowed to harm anyone, they just enjoy creating mischief for the sake of it so it wouldn’t hurt, right?

“Your majesty,” came the stern voice of the Diamond Jack, “Why has the Spade King summoned this Joker?”

Basch was on high alert and Erika stood protectively close to the children, who were all eager to play the Joker’s game and waiting for their King’s response. Albert looked at all of them and then back at the Joker, who smiled innocently.

Before Francis could even say something, Alfred butted in. “I invited him to play a game with the kids!”

“What!?”

Francis, Erika and Basch all looked shocked as the children cheered and Peter looked smug with Alfred’s choice. Alfred himself was starting to wonder if he should regret what he did but it was too late now.

Francis leaned in to whisper in Alfred’s ear. “Alfred are you certain about this? Is it really worth it to expose these children to a Joker like him?”

Alfred understood Francis’ concerns and tried to reassure him. “Like you said; Jokers don’t kill and he said he wouldn’t harm them. They can’t lie and besides it’s just one game. If it gets out of hand I’ll send him away.” Francis still looked concern but it wasn’t his call, and Alfred returned his attention to the Joker. “So what is this game of yours, Joker?”

Peter smiled and clapped his hands. Upon doing so all the children found themselves wearing rabbit ear hand bands and the card Alfred was holding turned into an axe. “We’re going to play Hunter!”

The children squealed with delight but Alfred was horrified. “I can't use this!”

“Why not?” asked Peter.

“Why not!? It’s a real axe you pipsqueak!”

“Whoops,” chuckled Peter, changing the axe into a toy one with minimal effort. “Now you all know the rules but in case you don’t I’ll remind you. You lot are the rabbits and the King here is the Hunter! If he catches you, you’re dead!” He looked over at Alfred and winked. “Not literally. Anyway he only has two minutes to get as many rabbits as he can and then someone else gets to be the hunter.”

As the children continued to chatter and squeal with excitement, Alfred was starting to think that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. He played this game when he was little, one person played the role as a hunter and the others would be the rabbits, chasing and hitting them with a toy axe. After a set amount of time the roles would swap around until everyone played as the hunter, and the one who caught the most rabbits won. There was another catch to this; the hunter had to be blind and it was this reason that Alfred was starting to reconsider this idea.

“Alright, lets get this game started!” The Joker pulled a blindfold and dangled it around Alfred’s face. “You know the rules Alfy, you’re not allowed to see.”

With a roll of his eyes, Alfred removes his glasses and allowed the Joker to blind him. “Francis, let me know if he tries anything,” he called out as his world went dark.

“Oh I will, believe me,” replied Francis.

“Ok kids! The one who kills the most rabbits wins a special prize!” That got the children riled up and even Alfred couldn’t deny his competitive nature was starting to kick in.

As he started to carefully wander about, listening out for the shouts and giggles of the children, Alfred carefully swung the toy axe about as he didn’t want to send a child flying across the fairground. It may be a toy axe but his strength alone could seriously hurt someone if he wasn’t careful. The children laughed and teased him when he missed, and when he managed to tap one of them he’d hear a whine of disappointment. In his blind state he could even hear Francis and Erika chortle discreetly, and he was almost certain he heard someone mentioning about wishing they had a camera on them. 

“You’ve only caught three little rabbits Alfy,” laughed Peter, “time is almost up.”

Putting a little more effort into it Alfred listened out carefully until he was certain that a child was standing right next to him. With a smirk he reached out to gently hit the child with the axe. 

“Gotcha,” he said.

However what came next wasn’t the playful cheer of the children, nor Francis congratulating him or the Joker teasing him.

What came next was complete and utter silence.

“Hello?”

No one responded. 

“Francis? Kids? Peter?”

He couldn’t hear them. In fact he couldn’t hear the sounds of the fair, he couldn’t even hear the music, he couldn’t hear anything. He couldn’t have gone deaf. It was like he had been transported away from the fair. Had he gone back to the garden?

“...Arthur?”

There was still no response. If he was in the garden he should be hearing the sound of the birds or even the rustle of the flowers.

“What’s going on?”

Had the Joker played a practical joke on him? With a huff he ripped off his blindfold to see what had happened.

He wished he hadn’t.

Before him was a sight that made his face turn ghost white. He wasn’t at the colourful fair, he was in a place that he did not recognise, a place he wasn’t even certain he could describe but it was dark and almost nightmarish. There was no one else there but something did catch his eyes. Directly in front of him upon the ground were four small children laying deathly still within pools of what could only be described as blood. Their silent faces were as pale as the moon, their empty eyes staring straight up at him, and upon their tiny bodies were large gashes and cuts where the blood freely flowed from. 

With a horrified gasp he took a step back and heard a splash, his foot felt wet and warm in a disturbing way. He looked down and was mortified to find he was standing in a large pool of blood, formed from the rivers of red from the children’s bodies. Looking at his hands he was further horrified to find them completely soaked in it and the axe he had been holding was also stained, dripping as if it was fresh. Out of sheer terror he dropped the axe, watching as it splashed into the pool of red and vanished. He looked desperately for an exit, he was too scared to even wonder how he got here.

_“We’ll never forgive you.”_

Alfred flinched and jumped round. It was if someone had spoken directly into his ear. 

“Who said that!? Who are you!? Where am I!?” Every word he uttered was frantic and laced with fear. 

_“We’ll never forgive you.”_

__

__

The voices echoed all around him. They continued repeating the same sentence over and over, getting louder and louder every single time. Where were they coming from? Alfred almost shrieked when he realised the voices were coming from the supposedly dead children. Their dead eyes were still on him as they repeated over and over, “we’ll never forgive you.” 

Their hands slowly began to rise, reaching out for him. They were rotted and full of filth and the stench was horrendous. Alfred was frozen with fear and he could only watch in horror as those hands came closer and closer to reaching him. He could feel his heart thumping so hard against his chest he was certain his ribs were going to crack. He couldn’t breath, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t even process what to do. It wasn’t until he felt those hands clutch on to his face that he finally reacted. 

With a gasp he fell over onto his back and before he could even try to crawl back he felt a weight on his chest. Looking up he almost stopped breathing when he saw one of those children sitting on his chest, staring down at him with those dead eyes. It reached out towards him and Alfred nearly screamed when it’s disgusting hands clasped onto his face.

__

__

__“Times up Alfy,” it said._ _

__“W-What?”_ _

__Alfred felt like something was removed from his face and he looked up to see Peter the Joker staring down at him with a massive grin whilst swinging around a blindfold._ _

__“I said, times up Alfy.”_ _

__Alfred sat up and looked around, finding himself surrounded by giggling children with the sun glaring down at him._ _

__“And with that, King Alfy has scored four rabbits! Not a bad score but who am I to judge?” laughed Peter. The children cheered and clapped. “Now, who’s the next hunter?”_ _

__As the children jumped up and down to get picked to be the next hunter, Alfred stood up and looked around frantically. It was like he had never left, and he was still here in this wonderful cheerful environment. What had just happened? Where did he go? Who were those children? There was no way that was an illusion. He could still smell the stench of rotten flesh and the sensation of the warm blood upon his feet. He felt sick, he wanted to go and vomit and his mind was a mess of panic and horror._ _

__“What’s wrong Alfred?” Francis had come over after noticing the pale complexion upon Alfred’s face._ _

__Alfred couldn’t even answer him. He tried to sort out the mess that was his mind until he finally came to a conclusion as to what happened to him. He glared over at the Joker who had just selected another child to be the hunter. With a fierce scowl he put his glasses back on and marched over to Peter and glared down at him, the Joker staring up at him innocently._ _

__“What’s the matter Alfy? I haven’t forgotten your ears.” With the flick of his fingers a rabbit ear headband appeared upon Alfred’s head. “See, you get to be a cute little rabbit now!”_ _

__Alfred wasn’t in the mood for games and he grabbed Peter by the ear and dragged him away from the playing children, the young Joker repeatedly yelping, “ow, ow, ow!” He forced him to sit upon an empty bench and tried not to raise his voice as he spoke with him. “What did you do to me!?” he hissed._ _

__Peter tilted his head with confusion. “What are you on about?”_ _

__“Don’t play games with me now,” snapped Alfred, peering over his shoulder to make certain the children were still safe and playing their game. “You showed me that horrible... place with those dead kids and the blood and-...”_ _

__Peter raised his hand and shook his head. “That wasn’t me!”_ _

__At first Alfred was going to accuse him of lying, but he noticed something with what the Joker said. He knew what he saw, he was aware of what he went through whilst blindfolded. “If it wasn’t you, then who was it!?”_ _

__Peter huffed and slouched on the bench. “I ended your turn when I realised what she was doing. I couldn’t have you waving your toy axe around like a maniac in front of the kids. Think of the traumas you’ll give them.”_ _

__“Who?” demanded Alfred._ _

__“Oh come on Alfy, you already know the answer,” giggled Peter, “the one who sends you to the garden.”_ _

__Alfred was stunned for a moment. The little mystery girl? She was the one who showed him that ghastly imaginary? Why? He thought she was somewhat nice and sincere to him, even if she never gave a straight answer. Then again she showed him that nightmarish door, maybe the whole innocent charm was just a cover up for her wicked intentions._ _

__“Anyway Alfy, I’ll give you that second piece of information now and I’ll be on my way,” said Peter with a yawn, “I’m getting tired now.”_ _

__“Who is that girl?” Alfred needed answers and he was tired of not getting any._ _

__“Oh you know who she is,” huffed Peter, “anyway, here is the second piece of delicious info!” He stood up upon the bench and whispered into his ear, “it’s not a door, it’s not a chest, it’s not a casket and it’s not a box. It’s always been here and it’s getting weaker and weaker, waiting for the King to stop the chaos it’s holding back.”_ _

__Alfred blinked and pulled away to glare at the Joker. “That’s not information, that’s a damn riddle!”_ _

__Peter shrugged. “Come on Alfy, try and be smart for a change. Not everything is as it seems, you’re just being shown things in a way your simple mind can understand. If you want to stop the impending doom then you need to do what needs to be done.”_ _

__“What is it that needs to be done!?”_ _

__Peter then bore a look that was almost alien to his usual innocent face. “You need to pay for what you’ve done.”_ _

__Alfred almost jumped back out of fright, the tone of voice and the way he looked at him was like something out of a nightmare. Before he could even ask Peter what he meant by that, the little Joker dashed back over to the children. “Sorry kids but I gotta go!” His announcement made the poor children groan in disappointment. “But the way I see it is you’re all winners! So here’s your prize!”_ _

__With a clap of his hands sweets and treats began to fall from the sky, and the excited children ran around trying to catch them. Francis cried out in misery as a toffee apple hit him on the head and was now stuck to his hair whilst Basch made a makeshift umbrella to protect Erika and himself. Peter cackled as he dashed back over to Alfred and smiled up at him._ _

__“Time for me to go Alfy, if you see Arthur again why don’t you suggest to go out for a bit? Leave his garden? Have a date?”_ _

__Alfred sighed and he gave Peter permission to leave, fed up with how these Joker’s gave him nothing but headaches. As if he was never there, Peter vanished from sight with his laughter echoing and all that was left were the children running around trying to catch the raining candy._ _


	19. Chapter 19

Needing a break from the fair and the children, Alfred found a quiet space in a nearby stone gazebo and he slumped onto the marble bench. He had informed Francis he needed to be alone to get his thoughts on order, but implored him to have a good time and he apologised for the whole Joker incident. Francis was still a little miffed about his ruined clothes but he couldn’t blame the whole thing on him, plus he was a little concerned about Alfred after the whole game. The children were still having a blast and everyone seemed to have forgotten that a Joker had been present.

Leaning back against one of the stone pillars, Alfred tried to put together everything he had learned this afternoon from Peter, the mischievous Joker. Some of it helped shed a little light on the whole thing but the rest of it left him confused. He learned that there was a cover up in his own Kingdom involving the Queen and Gilbert the Joker was somehow involved. He was also given a peculiar riddle and was told by the Joker that the thing that needed to be done was for him to pay for something he did.

“What did I do?”

What exactly did he do? Alfred couldn’t think of anything bad he had done in his life. Did it all have something to do with that door? The girl had told him that to stop what was behind that silver door he had to do what needed to be done, and the Joker told him that he needed to pay for something he did, but what did he do? In his youth he had stolen cookies, wet the bed, and threw tantrums but he doubted that was the sole reason. He threw wild parties that got a little out of hand as he got older, did some reckless things here and there but that didn’t sound like the problem.

He also wondered what that horrible imagery the mystery girl showed him was all about. Peter claimed that it was her who who showed him that dreadful sight, but why? The dead children reaching out to him, the rivers of blood, his stained hands and the axe. Why did she show him all of that? What was it all about? Was she trying to scare him... or was this her bizarre way of trying to tell him something? 

“Argh, this all giving me a headache,” he mumbled as he leaned forward to rub the bridge of his nose.

As he tried to get his thumping headache to calm down he suddenly heard a light chuckle above him. For a second he thought it was Francis coming to check on him. He glanced up and to his surprise he was looking up at Arthur, the sunlight directly behind him and he was holding a pot with bright pink flowers.

“What are you doing?” snorted Arthur, who appeared amused for some reason.

Looking round Alfred found he was back in the garden and not in the stone gazebo, sitting upon the wooden bench he had sat with Arthur before. He was actually surprised to be back so soon after what he just went through at the fair. If it was indeed the mystery girl sending him here, why did she show him that ghastly sight with the dead children and then bring him here? 

Arthur continued to chuckle away. “You look adorable,” he laughed.

That snapped Alfred out of his confusion and he blushed furiously at the comment. “W-What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Arthur pointed towards his head with a big smirk. Alfred raised his hand up to pat his own head and blushed even more when he realised he was still wearing those rabbit ears Peter put on him. He ripped them off and stood up, stuffing them into his pocket.

“These w-were just something I got from the fair,” he mumbled, trying to get his face to calm down. The last thing he wanted was for Arthur to see him looking ridiculous.

Arthur seemed disappointed that Alfred took them off. “So how was the fair? Did you entertain the children well?”

Alfred felt a little smug, recalling that he had been practically bragging to Arthur about the whole thing during the past week. “Oh they’re loving it,” he declared, “the rides, the games, the entertainment. I told you that I’m the greatest host and I never disappoint.” Alfred couldn’t resist bragging about how the fair went, deciding not to mention the bits with the Joker. He went on and on, keen to describe to Arthur what he had missed out on.

“It sounded like you had a good time,” mused Arthur, placing the potted plant down by some others.

“You should’ve come,” said Alfred insistently, “you would’ve had fun.”

Arthur looked up with a dry smile and shrugged. “Maybe next time, eh?”

Alfred couldn’t help but notice the strange way he said that, as if he wasn’t putting any commitment into it. He had pleaded with Arthur to come to the fair but he always refused, insisting that he was too busy and that he’d go next time. In fact now that he thought about it, Arthur didn’t look at all busy. He didn’t appear that dirty either, his hands were usually filthy and his clothes might have a little dirt after some gardening, in fact it looked like he hardly did any work at all. What had he been doing, relaxing in his garden? Did that mean that Arthur lied to him? Why? Why did he lie? Why didn’t he want to come?

“You running out of time.”

That made Alfred look up so fast that his neck almost snapped. “W-What?”

“Our guessing game,” said Arthur with a polite smile as he pointed towards the trees, “you’re running out of time.”

Alfred sighed with relief, thinking that Arthur was going to say something weird and he had enough of weirdness. “I didn’t realise I had a time limit.”

“Well if you end up coming to my garden in the night again, you’d be able to tell what tree they are, they’ve almost fully grown.” 

That made Alfred confused. “Wait, I’d be able to tell what kind of trees they are at night?”

Arthur nodded. “Only recently they’ve started to show their true colours, but it only happens after the sun sets.”

“What kind of tree does that!?”

“You have to figure that out, idiot.”

“You never told me that before!”

“I didn’t think I needed to give you clues.”

Alfred sighed. He was so busy trying to think of the mystery of the Queen that he didn’t even have time to think of what the breed of the trees that Arthur was growing. He didn’t even realise it was wearing him out, there was just too much going on right now he didn’t get the chance to relax properly. 

“You look stressed,” said Arthur suddenly. “What’s the matter?”

Alfred sighed again and rubbed the bridge of his nose, readjusting his glasses. “I guess entertaining those kids took it out of me, there were lots of them and keeping every single one of them smiling and happy was a lot of work.”

Arthur didn’t seem convinced. “Is that all?”

“Well...” Alfred wasn’t sure what he should tell him as he certainly didn’t want to mention the vision of the dead children and the blood rivers, but maybe he should tell him what he learned about the mystery girl, it might cheer him up. “I think I figured out why I coming here.”

That made Arthur appear a little startled. “You have?”

“Remember that strange little girl I asked you about? The one who supposedly knows you? She told me recently that she’s the one who is sending me here to your garden. I still don’t know why but I think I’m close to figuring it out.” 

That last bit was a lie but he wanted to convince him that he was close to solving the mystery. He wondered how Arthur would react to this news. Would he congratulate him on finding out something about this bizarre occurrence? Would he have questions of his own? Alfred was actually keen to know what Arthur would have to say about all this.

Arthur didn’t say anything. He didn’t even seem to be the least bit intrigued. Instead he appeared to be saddened by this and he didn’t look at Alfred in the eyes. “I... see,” he muttered. 

Before Alfred could say anything, Arthur walked off without another word. He didn’t even look back and from his body language alone Alfred could tell that he wasn’t at all happy about the news. Confused, he chased after him. 

“Arthur? What’s wrong?” He was met with silence. In fact Arthur began to pick up his pace meaning that Alfred had to jog after him. “What did I say? What’s wrong?”

Arthur continued to stomp off, trying to get away from him. Alfred was confused by his sudden change in behaviour, not used to seeing the usual composed man suddenly acting like an angry child out of nowhere. Why was he acting like this? All he said was that he figured out why he was coming here. He thought Arthur would be happy to know the reason but instead he was trying to run away from him. He continued to call out to him but every time he did Arthur would walk faster, until it looked like he was almost running.

They did a full lap around the garden until Alfred had enough. He sprinted forward and jumped directly in front of Arthur, causing the angry man to halt. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?”

Arthur appeared stunned by this accusation. “What’s wrong with me!? What’s wrong with you?” he snapped. Arthur’s expression changed into an angry one and he glared daggers at Alfred.

“What are you talking about?” Alfred was now completely lost.

“What do you what am I talking about? You insensitive idiot! You jerk! You complete and utter twat!” Arthur started flinging his arms at him, though he couldn’t physically touch Alfred, he still lashed out at him. “You horrible idiot! I hate you, hate you, hate you!”

“W-What did I say?”

“Shut up! I hate you, you idiot! Go away and don’t ever come back!”

And with that Arthur bolted off and disappeared behind the large rose bush, leaving Alfred’s standing there completely and utterly confused. What made Arthur so angry? He thought he’d be thrilled to learn why he was constantly visiting his garden. This behaviour of his was completely out of the blue, even if he had a habit of suddenly snapping at him from time to time, he never went full crazy at him. What set him off like that? He was in such a good mood when he got here and now he was in a really bad one. Was it the way he said it? He couldn’t think of why this would upset him. He batted his own head as he tried to think of why Arthur got so pissed from hearing some good news, it wasn’t like him at all.

He was distracted from his thinking when he heard distant sobbing. Knowing full well who the culprit was, Alfred carefully traced the steps Arthur took and found him sat down under one of his trees, his face buried in his arms and crying like there was no tomorrow.

Alfred bit his lower lip and fiddled with his fingers, he hadn’t been noticed yet but he knew he couldn’t just stand there in complete silence. He had seen Arthur cry before but back then he knew why he was in tears and he knew how to fix the problem; a big dose of confidence. Now he had no idea what upset him, but whatever it was it must’ve been big. He wanted to say something to him but he wasn’t sure what, he was at a complete loss for words. He opened his mouth to say something cheerful but immediately stopped himself, thinking that wouldn’t work. He wanted to ask him what was wrong but he had a feeling if he did Arthur would just snap at him again. As Arthur continued to cry Alfred knew he couldn’t allow him to continue any longer.

He carefully walked over and sat down next to him, certain the crying man was now aware of his presence but didn’t react. Alfred tried to think of something that wouldn’t push his buttons and the only thing he could think of to say was, “I’m sorry.” 

Why the hell did he just say that?

Arthur sniffled and rubbed his tear filled eyes with the palm of his hand. “Why the hell are you apologising?” 

“I don’t know,” confessed the confused Alfred.

“Then if you don’t know, don’t apologise until you do, idiot.”

“But I don’t know what I did,” huffed Alfred, raising his voice a little, “I thought you’d be happy to know why I’m coming here all the time.”

“So what now then?” snapped Arthur, glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes. “You figured it out, so what now? Why were you trying so hard to figure it out? Why did you want to know so badly!?”

Alfred had no idea what Arthur was driving at. “I... I just wanted to know why I was coming here all the time. I thought you did too.”

“What for!?” Arthur wiped away some fresh tears. “So you can stop coming all together?”

As Arthur continued to cry, a lightbulb flicked on in Alfred’s head as he finally figured out why he was so upset. He thought that if the mystery had been solved Alfred would stop coming to visit him. He truly believed that once he figured out why he was coming here, he’d stop coming all together. It made a little sense in some way and it explained why he got so upset, it was a little touching kind of. If he did indeed solve the mystery of his strange visits to the garden, would he stop them all together? If he had asked himself that question a couple of weeks ago he would’ve said yes just to get his life back in order, but now he found himself asking that very question and he found he couldn’t bring himself to say yes.

Arthur had become a part of his life now, visiting him and his garden was like a normal thing for him now than it was a couple of weeks ago, and deep down he wasn’t ready to let that go just yet. He wanted to solve the mystery more than anything, but he didn’t want to end his relationship with Arthur, he didn’t want to stop coming to the garden. It was also sad to think that Arthur himself thought that was his intention and now he had to convince him that it wasn’t true.

“Look, I’m not going to stop seeing you once I figure this all out,” he insisted, “I just needed to know the reason, that doesn’t mean I want it to stop.”

Arthur sniffled and peeked up at him. “But what if you do solve it and by solving it you won’t be able to come back?”

Alfred actually never considered that. He knew the little girl was the one sending him here but he didn’t fully understand why. All he knew was that the girl wanted to grant Arthur’s deepest wish. Maybe that was it? If Arthur got his wish granted, it would possibly mean the end of his visits.

“I still don’t know a lot yet,” he confessed, “but she told me the reason she’s sending me here is to grant your wish or something.”

That made Arthur sit up, his tear stained face was now equally confused as Alfred’s. “My... wish?”

“Yeah, that’s what she told me.”

Arthur now looked lost and he stared down at his feet. “Why? Why would this girl want to grant me a wish?” He then looked up at Alfred with an accusing glare. “Are you certain she’s not a faerie?”

“What!? No,” snapped Alfred, who still did not believe in such things, “she doesn’t have silly little wings or a wand. She looks like an ordinary girl who wears a ridiculously frilly dress... and has a creepy habit of disappearing into thin air.”

Arthur then looked back at his feet. “I... don’t understand. Why would some stranger want to grant me a wish?”

As he sat there with a bewildered expression, Alfred decided to pry a little deeper. “What... is your wish?”

“I don’t know,” snapped Arthur, “I have lots of wishes!”

“Really!? Then name one.”

“Um... I... I can’t just pick one off the top of my head, you idiot!”

“Ok, then think about it.”

Arthur drummed his fingers along his knees as he tried to think. “I always... I mean I... n-no it’s stupid.” He then tried to hide his face as he blushed.

“What is it? Tell me?” Alfred hopes that if he knew what it was, he could figure out the mystery girl’s true intention.

However Arthur suddenly got angry again. “Why? So you can stop coming here? Is that your plan? Get what you need to stop all of this!?”

“No, no!” Alfred waved his hands furiously and shook his head. “I just-...”

“I don’t want you to stop coming here!” 

Alfred felt a shiver of shock rush through him when Arthur suddenly blurted that out. New tears began to spill out of Arthur’s eyes as he choked on them. “You don’t understand Alfred,” he wept, “if you stop coming here... I f-feel like... it’ll be as if my world has ended. I’m so lonely here, it’s unbearable. I thought my garden would help me cope but it hasn’t, there has always been this emptiness in my heart and no matter what I did it never went away. I was so desperate for some form of company, I even wanted him to visit me more often. I even kept a poor little bird locked up against its will. When you first c-came I thought it was some sort of trick, that I was cursed to have a moron follow me about, b-but you’ve... you’ve filled that hole and I don’t want you to go away!” Arthur than began to bawl loudly, and even fell over onto his side and cried and cried.

Completely stunned by that speech from Arthur, Alfred was at a complete loss for words. He had no idea that his presence here had made that huge impact on him. He had no idea that this was how Arthur really felt. Sure he helped him with a confidence boost when it came to that horrible man, but to find out that Arthur now couldn’t bear the thought of him just disappearing was overwhelming. To see those endless tears pouring out of his eyes because of his fear of losing him was unbearable and Alfred was desperate to stop them, he didn’t want him to think that he was going away after he solved the mystery. In fact now that he thought about it, what would his life be like without Arthur in it? He tried to imagine it and he quickly found he didn’t want to imagine it. As he had told himself earlier, Arthur was now a part of his life and he didn’t want to let that go. He wanted to continue this relationship with him no matter what, and he wanted Arthur to know that.

He manoeuvred around and laid down on his own side so he could face Arthur, who was still laying down and crying his eyes out. “Arthur, I swear I’m not doing this do I can just end this all. I just wanted to find out why it was happening, I had no intention of cutting you out of my life.”

“Liar,” choked Arthur.

“I mean it,” insisted Alfred with a gentle smile. “Ever since I started coming here it’s actually been helping me mentally, yes I was confused at first but now it’s like you and this place are part of life now, and I don’t want to get rid of it.”

Arthur sniffled and stared over at Alfred with his watery eyes. “Truly?”

“Of course.” Though there was an easy way to remedy this just in case Alfred did end up not being able to come back. As Arthur sat up and tried to wipe away his tears, Alfred asked, “you could always tell me where you are? Then we could meet up for real, just in case.”

Hearing that made Arthur’s face look even more miserable. “I... can’t.”

“Why not?” Alfred sat up. “Why can’t you tell me?”

Arthur didn’t look up at Alfred and slouched over to hide his face, his messy hair obscuring his eyes from view. “Because even if I told you... you won’t be able to come.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Alfred scooted closer. “Why can’t I come?”

Arthur then looked up and he seemed a little agitated. “What’s wrong with how things are as they are now?”

He couldn’t be serious? He wanted to keep this bizarre way of meeting up going? As much as Alfred did enjoy these visits he knew deep down that these couldn’t last, that eventually they would have to end. “But I told you before, I want to meet you in person!”

“You can’t,” said Arthur in a flat tone of voice.

“Then... well... why don’t you come? Come visit me!”

Arthur opened his mouth to answer him but he couldn’t give him one. Instead he started bawling again, hiding his face in his hands and his scrawny body trembling as he sobbed. Alfred sighed and ran a hand through his hair, finding this whole situation to be one big mess and it was somehow his fault. He was keen for answers, he wanted to understand the reasons behind Arthur’s choices, but seeing him in tears was heartbreaking enough as it is. He hadn’t come here to upset him but he was so sick and tired of not being able to understand anything. 

As much as he wanted some solid answers to help clear up all these bugging questions, he wanted Arthur to stop crying as that seemed like the most important of all priorities. He could leave at any moment and he didn’t want to leave him in tears, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night as he’d be constantly worrying over him. In situations like this he would reach out and pat them on the shoulder, or even pull them into a hug but with Arthur he couldn’t do any of that. He had no choice but to rely on his own words.

“Arthur, I didn’t mean to upset you. I really like coming here to see you, but I was just desperate to get some answers. I also really want to meet you face to face one day but I didn’t want to get you so worked up.” He did try to touch him on the shoulder, but his hand just sunk through him. “It doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow, but one day I’d really like to see you and maybe walk with you in your garden for real.”

Arthur seemed to be calming down, and he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes and nose. “Don’t you think I want that too, you idiot,” he stammered.

“Well why not then?” Alfred bit his own lip upon realising what he just said, thinking that it was only going to get Arthur to start crying again.

Thankfully Arthur seemed to have spent all his tears and was now focused on slowly recomposing himself. “Do you have any idea how strange it is to have a constant visitor in your presence and not being able to hit them when they say something stupid?”

That took Alfred by surprise. “You wanted to hit me?”

“Of course not, idiot,” snapped Arthur, “it’s just...” He went quiet for a moment, as if he was trying to find all the words he needed and form them into an explanation Alfred could understand.

Not wanting to waste the chance to cheer him up, Alfred then smirked and said, “when we meet up you can hit me all you want, but with your scrawny arms I doubt I’d be able to feel them.”

That caused Arthur to glare at him. “I beg your pardon!?”

“Yep, wouldn’t be able to feel a single punch,” insisted Alfred, folding his arms and grinning like an over confident child. “Your punches probably feel like mosquito bites.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I suppose that would be true,” he admitted, suddenly smirking, “I think all the layers of fat have made you incapable of feeling anything. You wouldn’t be able to feel a cannonball hitting you directly in your fat gut.”

“What!? I’m not fat!” 

“Says the brat who eats his weight in sweets.”

“I have a very high metabolism!”

“And yet you still have chubby cheeks.”

“They’re not chubby! You’re just too thin.”

“I’m not that thin.”

“Oh please, I could lift you over my shoulders and still be unable to tell if you were there or not.”

“Well maybe it’s because you’re so fat!”

“It’s not fat, it’s muscle! Dumbass.”

“Fat brat.”

“Scrawny tea drinker.”

“Overweighted idiot!”

“Giant eyebrow coot!”

“Gluttonous swine!”

“Meanie!”

“Twat!”

The two stared each other off, Alfred’s blue eyes glaring into Arthur’s green ones that were now completely tear free. For a moment they sat like that, neither one of them moving a single inch until at last Alfred snorted and started laughing. It didn’t take Arthur long to start snickering himself, unable to keep a straight face.

“You’re such an arse,” chuckled Arthur, tucking his handkerchief away after wiping his eyes a few times.

“But a damn good one,” retorted Alfred with a wink.

Arthur merely rolled his eyes and sorted himself out, not realising how messy he had gotten after laying down in the grass. He seemed to be in a better state of mind after their playful banter, and Alfred thought it would be ok to gently prod him with a question.

“So, you do want to meet up for real?”

For a moment Arthur paused and Alfred was afraid that he had restarted the waterworks, but Arthur responded with, “of course I do, idiot.”

“So you can hit me, right?” Alfred phrased that in a playful tone.

Arthur seemed to blush and looked a little bashful. “Y-yes... but to also... um...”

He looked away but Alfred got curious. “What? Don’t tell me you want to kick me too?”

“No...” Arthur then glanced up at Alfred, his pale face now completely red. “I... I’ve always wondered how soft your hair was.”

Alfred blinked. “Huh?”

Arthur fumbled with his hands as he tried to explain. “I... kind of wanted... to run my hands through it... that’s all...” He then looked up at Alfred with those vibrant green eyes of his and a small bashful smile appeared upon his blushing face.

Upon looking at that embarrassed face and after hearing that surprising little confession, Alfred felt his chest tighten and he soon found it was getting hard to breathe. He could feel his heart thumping hard against his chest and his head became light as if it was about to float off. He tried to say something but he couldn’t even form a word, it was as if his voice had become trapped in his throat.

“That didn’t sound weird, did it?” Arthur still appeared embarrassed but he couldn’t help but notice the strange way Alfred was reacting.

Alfred couldn’t say anything and he stood up whilst clutching his chest, not realising how red his face was. The very image of Arthur’s thin and delicate hands stroking his hair was making butterflies dance around in his gut, and soon all he could hear was the sound of his fast beating pulse in his ears. It was making him think of other things, like what did his hair feel like, what did his skin feel like, what did he smell like, how soft were his... his...

“I-I-I... um... I n-need to...”

He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t get the words out.

“Alfred, are you alright?”

Looking up Alfred found that Arthur was now longer there and he found himself back in the stone gazebo. Looking over his shoulder he spotted Francis trotting over, the Diamond King appearing a little intrigued.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I-I... I um... h-hair...”

Francis now appeared puzzled. “Hair?” He patted his own golden locks to make certain it wasn’t covered in anything gross. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

Alfred shook his head and stumbled backwards, ending up on the marble bench from before. His heart was still thumping like mad as Arthur’s strange request continued to repeat over and over in his head.

_“I want to run my hand through your hair.”_

Why did that strange request make him feel like this? What was he even feeling? He didn’t feel disgusted or angry, so why did that simple but odd request make him feel like this? Even Francis was starting to notice and a sly smirk popped onto his face.

“Alfred, it looks like you’ve been struck by Cupid’s arrow.”

Alfred looked up at him, still trying to calm down. “W-WHAT!?”

Francis giggled. “Sorry, but you look like a little schoolboy who just got his first kiss.”

That only made Alfred blush more and it almost looked like he was steaming from embarrassment. There was no way, there was absolutely no way he felt like that for Arthur. Arthur was an alright guy with a long number of flaws, but he was just a friend. A friend who wanted to stroke his hair for some crazy reason. That had to be it, all friends did that with each other, right? Ask to do some odd thing like stroke hair or poke their cheeks or hold hands, that was what friends did with each other all the time... only he couldn’t do any of that with Arthur, and upon realising this he suddenly felt sad.

“Come on mon ami,” said Francis as he pulled him up, “your fair is ending soon and they’re all wondering where their lovely host is.”

Alfred allowed Francis to haul him up and they walked off back towards the fair, with Alfred’s mind now filled with confused feelings and thoughts he had no idea how to process. Francis wanted to tease him or at least ask who or what got him into such a state, but he decided to leave it and wait another time. Alfred just needed to go lie down after all this and get his mind back in order, and try to get his heart to calm down as it continued to thump away against his chest.

As the two Kings headed back to the fair for the finishing ceremony, a young girl in a frilly dress stepped out from behind one of the pillars, watching them go. She seemed saddened and hopped onto the bench to sit down and sigh.

“That wasn’t a nice thing to do, you know.”

The girl looked up and spotted Peter the Joker sitting atop the gazebo and staring down at her. “Why’d you have to do that in the middle of my game?”

The girl sighed. “I just saw him with that axe and... it brought back a bad memory.”

Peter groaned and hopped off his perch, landing before the girl. “Alright, that was my bad,” he admitted, “still, how long are you planning to do this? You’re running out of time, it’s best to tell him now.”

“If I told him now, do you think he would do it?” The girl glared at Peter. “Can you honestly tell me he’d go do what needs to be done right now if we told him?”

After a small silence Peter groaned. “No... he’d probably think of something else, something that wouldn’t work.”

“Exactly,” stated the girl.

“Argh, Gilbert is going to be so mad at me,” moaned Peter, leaning against a pillar. “I told him he was involved in that cover up.”

“It doesn’t matter, Alfred will still not be able to piece any of it together just yet,” said the girl as she looked up into the sky. “I should apologise to Alfred soon, but he’s close now. He’s nearly got all the answers.”

“Tch, yeah,” snorted Peter, “but he doesn’t know what to do with half of them.” He stomped around a little with his hands in his pocket, glancing over at the girl. “Why are you doing all this? Wouldn’t it be better just to... you know?” Peter ran a finger across his neck and made a croaking sound.

“No,” said the girl angrily, “that would only make Arthur sad.”

“Arthur, Arthur, Arthur,” groaned Peter, “you’re doing all this for that whiny jerk? Why?”

“You know why, and it’s not just for him.” The girl glared at him. She was about to say something when she cried out in pain and clutched her stomach.

Peter dashed over immediately and made sure she was ok. “I thought you said you had plenty of time?”

The girl heaved heavily. “I can endure this,” she said with pained determination, “I have to... for the survival of this world and for them. I can endure this a little longer.”

With an agitated huff, Peter slumped into the bench. “Well he better figure this out soon. I enjoy teasing his simple mind and all, but not with doomsday on the horizon.” He glanced at the girl again. “Hey, even if he goes off to do what needs to be done... will you-know-who even do anything?”

The girl said nothing as she had no answer for that. “All I can do is hope that Alfred with be able to do it. That is all I can do... and I hope that he will forgive me.”

“I doubt it,” huffed Peter, “If it we’re me in his place, I’d damn you for eternity.”

The girl smiled bitterly as she walked off. “Then I deserve it,” she said, vanishing from the Joker’s sight.


	20. Chapter 20

Alfred rolled a pen back and forth between his hands, watching it as it moved across his desk as if he was trying to put himself in a trance. He focused on the small details he would normally not care about, or the the small things he had never noticed before. How the light reflected off it almost perfectly. How it seemed to roll perfectly on the flat surface. How the golden nib was still perfectly clean despite it constantly being used. Still no matter how hard he tried to focus on it, no matter what detail he tried to force his attention on, he couldn’t get his mind off Arthur, and every time he thought about Arthur he felt really weird and confused.

Why though? All Arthur said was that he want to touch his hair. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Why did a request like that make him feel so strange? People had ruffled his hair before, some had even petted him and he wasn’t too bothered by it, so why was it that when Arthur asked him flat out he suddenly lost the ability to speak and was unable to think straight? He tried to think of an answer but he wasn’t sure what the answer was, and he wasn’t even certain where to start looking for one.

“Were you listening Alfred?”

Alfred looked up to see Yao glaring at him with fiery golden eyes whilst Francis was casually sitting on a nearby armchair. “Sorry, what now?”

Yao rolled his eyes and groaned, slapping his arms against his sides. “I said, what were you thinking bringing a Joker of all things into a fair filled with children!? We were lucky that no one is complaining that you exposed them to one, they’re all assuming he was just extra entertainment!”

“It wasn’t exactly planned,” said Francis, trying to defend Alfred, “Besides, it’s not as if he damaged anything... apart from my limited edition silk blouse from the Diamond Kingdom’s top designer. They don’t make these anymore you know.”

“That’s not the point,” huffed Yao, ignoring the offended gasp that Francis emitted, “Jokers are unpredictable and dangerous if not properly controlled! We could’ve had a major incident on our hands, we’re lucky that he didn’t hurt anyone. What were you thinking of bringing one in around children? What if one of them got hurt?”

“Jokers are forbidden from harming anyone,” muttered Francis.

“They find ways,” argued Yao, “just don’t ever summon one again without consulting me first Alfred! We’ve got the Heart Court coming tomorrow and I don’t want them coming with the idea that the Spade King would randomly summon a Joker. Alright!?”

Alfred had returned his attention to the pen during the whole conversation, now twirling it around with his fingers. He only looked up when he realised how quiet it had gotten. “Sorry... what?”

In a situation like this Yao would’ve shouted at him for not paying attention or even snatch the pen off him, but the Jack could sense that something was off. He glanced over at Francis who had now risen out of his seat and walked over to join him, the pair of them staring at the distracted young King.

“Alfred?”

“Hmmm?” Alfred wasn’t looking up, he just continued to toy with the pen.

Francis realised that his mind was elsewhere and something was telling him it was regarding a personal issue, an issue that needed a delicate and experienced touch. He turned to Yao and patted him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go and take a break, I think your King and I need to have a little talk.”

Yao frowned but didn’t argue, there was some work he had to finish off and he wanted to finish it before the sun set. He politely excused himself and left the two King’s alone. Francis returned his attention to Alfred, snatching the pen out of his hand and noticing that it took him five seconds to realise his own was missing from his hands.

“Hey,” responded Alfred unenthusiastically.

Francis bopped him on the head with the very pen he took before retaking his seat. “Alfred my dear, you’re off in your own little world and something tells me it has something to do with your mystery gardener.”

Alfred cringed. “N-no.”

“Oh really?” Francis raised a single brow, knowing full well that he was correct. “Then why are you off in la la land? I know it’s nothing to do with your investigation, otherwise you’d have more wrinkles on your face and right now your face is as pink as a peach. Come now Alfred, you can talk to me.”

Alfred fidgeted for a moment, wondering what he should say. He felt embarrassed for some reason but he really wanted to get it all off his chest. Francis was a very wise person and maybe he could help him figure out why his mind was trapped in a whirlpool of confusing thoughts. This was nothing like the investigation regarding the missing Queen, this one just felt really awkward.

“Francis,” he began, “what would you do if I suddenly asked you if I could... touch your hair.”

Francis gasped and shielded his hair protectively. “I would slap you across your chubby face! I would never let your sticky sweet covered fingers come anywhere near my beautiful hair!”

It was almost humorous at how Francis was protective of his body. “I wear gloves,” huffed Alfred as he wiggled his fingers.

“I wouldn’t risk it!”

“Look, I’m just asking how would you respond.”

“I just showed you! I don’t like people touching my hair... unless it was a fair lady of course.”

Alfred sighed and rubbed his brow. “I was only asking because... someone asked... me.”

Then made Francis lower his guard. “Really? Your mystery gardener?”

“Yeah... and it made me feel... weird.” It was the only way Alfred could describe how he felt. “It didn’t make me angry, or disgusted... I just... I don’t know what I felt.”

Francis began scooting his chair closer so he plant his elbows upon the desk and rest his head upon the palm of his hands, his blue eyes almost looked like they were sparkling. “Weird how? What were your symptoms? Tight chest? Hard to breath? Mind a complete mess?”

“Y-yes,” replied Alfred, surprised that Francis knew what he had experienced. “How’d you know?”

Francis sat up and laughed. “My friend, I know exactly what you’ve got and you’ve got it bad.” He then wiggled his finger, beckoning Alfred to come closer so he could whisper in his ear.

“You’re in love.”

“What!?” Alfred jerked back. “What the hell fo you mean in... in l-love? I’m not in love! You’re lying! Have you speaking to that florist behind my back?”

Francis couldn’t help but laugh out loud as Alfred became terribly flustered and defensive. “It’s so obvious,” he declared with a grin, “your mind is currently lost in another world, your heart flutters every time you think about whoever it is who has made you feel this way.”

“I do not!” Alfred sunk into his chair and folded his arms, not realising his cheeks were turning red.

“Ok then,” snorted Francis, “how would you feel if I asked if I could touch your hair?”

“I’d be creeped out.”

“I’ll ignore that for now... so then how would you feel if someone like Yao or Ivan, or even Ludwig, wanted to touch your hair?”

Alfred thought about that for a moment. If Yao asked he’d be scared that he was going to rip his hair out. If Ivan asked then he’d start running out of fear, and if Ludwig asked he’d be more curious as to why given his nature. Strange. He had a good idea how he would react if others asked him, so why was it then when Arthur asked him it made him feel odd? It didn’t disgust him, it didn’t fill him with dread and he wasn’t feeling offended. He couldn’t even begin to think of how to describe this feeling. Still, that couldn’t mean he liked him like that, Arthur was just a good friend with strange habits. Was it common for friends to ask to stroke your hair? It did come out of the blue and it was from Arthur, and he wasn’t exactly normal. Arthur didn’t exactly grew up with a lot of friends according to what he told him, so maybe he was a bit clueless in socialising or something.

“Look, I got asked by a guy who’s kinda weird and it was after we had a little argument, it just stunned me that’s all,” insisted Alfred.

Francis didn’t seem convinced. “So it was this Arthur fellow who asked you?”

“Yes,” replied Alfred.

“And it was after an argument? What about?”

Alfred explained to Francis how Arthur overreacted to some news regarding his investigation in their mysterious meetings, the other man thinking that the only reason Alfred was investigating was so to stop their visits. How he shouted at him and then started crying, admitting that Alfred’s company was the only thing that kept him sane in his little garden. He wouldn’t stop crying until he promised that even if he did solve the mystery, he wouldn’t stop visiting him.

Francis listened carefully, nodding his head at every detail. “So he got upset when he assumed you wanted to stop your visits?”

“I know right,” chuckled Alfred, “I swear that guy can overreact way too much sometimes.”

“And then he asked about your hair?”

“It was a little more... um... well, we just talked about meeting up for real and he said he wanted to know how soft my hair was... by running his hand through it... weird right?” Alfred try to sound casual but couldn’t control his flushing cheeks.

Francis merely smirked as he gazed at Alfred. “Well you might be in denial about it Alfred, but I can tell you one thing about this Arthur chap.”

“And what’s that?”

“Simple.” Francis sat up again. “He’s in love with you.”

That revelation made Alfred lean back in his chair do much that both he and chair fell over. He scrambled back up and stared straight into the Diamond King’s eyes. “WHAT!?”

Francis just shrugged. “A lonely man who longs for your company, gets upset over the possibility he might never see you again, and the obvious clue that he wants to feel your hair and flat out told you. I mean you’ve been seeing him for weeks right? I don’t need to see this man face to face to know that he’s head over heels in love with you.”

Alfred wanted to say something but he couldn’t get his voice to work. His lips quivered and his jaw almost went completely slack. Just the very idea that Francis suggested was making his stomach perform somersaults and his head spin like crazy. He felt hot and almost uncomfortable, even his legs trembled a little as he finally managed to force out a sentence.

“He’s... in love with me?”

Even when he said it he could feel his cheeks burn. The very idea that Arthur felt this way about him made those weird feelings come back only they had intensified. Did Arthur actually feel that way about him? Was that why he acted so bizarre during their last meeting? No, that couldn’t be it, it couldn’t be that simple. Sure Francis was experience when it came to matters of the heart, but he had never even met Arthur and he couldn’t be able to tell how someone felt just by hearing about one certain experience.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” huffed Alfred, taking his seat and tried to recompose himself. “There is no way that he could be in love with me, he just enjoys my company as a friend.”

“How would you know?” Francis still appeared smug and confident about his prediction. “You didn’t even realise when a young girl at your 16th birthday party had a huge crush on you.”

Alfred darted his eyes away from Francis for a second as he thought of a response. “I thought she was just being clingy.”

“She batted her eyelids at you and was very direct.”

“I thought she had some eye disorder when she did that.”

“She even admitted to liking you.”

“So did everyone else!”

“Anyway, I think you and this Arthur have developed special feelings for each other and I think he’s the one who’s making the first move.”

“N-no we haven’t, and he was just being weird. He has a habit of doing that.”

“So you know how he truly feels about you?”

“No, but-... look, he doesn’t like me like that.”

“Alfred just tell me how you feel when you’re with him.”

The young King sighed as he thought back to those hours he spent with Arthur in his garden. “There are times when I’m at peace whilst I’m there, then there are times we argue and fight but we eventually make up. He sometimes helps me and I help him. He makes me laugh sometimes, he’s actually really funny when he’s having a fit. I enjoy the times he sings...”

“He sings?”

“Hmm mmm, he does,” sighed Alfred, not realising he was now leaning upon his desk, his eyes staring off into space. “He sings for his garden, and he likes to write his own songs. He’s actually got a nice singing voice, you’d like it.”

“What colour are his eyes?”

“Green... like emeralds.”

“His hair?”

“Messy... and golden, like wheat fields on a summers day.”

“Is he tall? Short? Bulky?”

“He’s a little shorter than me and he’s really thin. His skin is ridiculously pale it’s almost like snow. He actually likes to dress real smart, he’s even embroidered his waistcoats with these beautiful patterns.”

“He can sew?”

“He has so many talents... except cooking. Apparently he can’t cook to save his own life. I’d probably eat his food to see what it’s like. He’d probably get angry at me if I spat it out.”

“What else can he do?”

“He... makes me laugh... gets rid of all the worries and doubts in my mind... he’s actually older then me you know, but I never got his actual age. He tells me the most interesting stories, we play chess but he has to move my pieces. There are days when I actually look forward to going to see him and when I’m in that garden with him I just feel... so happy.”

Francis couldn’t resist snorting a laugh upon seeing Alfred’s face as he spoke of his special friend. “You are so in love.”

“I am not,” huffed Alfred, sitting back up. “He’s just a really good friend. Don’t you have really good friends?”

Francis was growing weary with his stubbornness and tried a new approach. “What if I were to meet with this Arthur, and I decide to woo him?”

That actually made Alfred shudder. “What? You?”

“Why not? You made him sound rather attractive, he might be my type.”

“N-no, he’s not your type!”

“Oh, so you know what kind of men I like now?”

“I know that Arthur isn’t your type.”

“Oh, so I can’t handle him? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Arthur is way too stubborn for you, he doesn’t even like beards.”

“How would you know!?”

“He told me, he doesn’t like beards. He thinks they’re gross.”

Francis let out a loud agitated sigh and fell back into his chair, both fed up with the young King and offended that someone he never met thought his beard was gross. Trying to convince Alfred that he had a painfully obvious attraction to his mystery gardener was like slamming your head against a wall hoping it would crack open, it was impossible. Alfred was too stubborn and ignorant when it came to the feelings of others, he wouldn’t know if he was in love unless it came up and smacked him across the face. It was actually pointless to continue, and he didn’t want a headache before going to bed. He could only hope that Alfred would eventually figure it out for his own sake and for the sake of this Arthur fellow.

“Alfred, being in love... there is no shame in it. Sure you might be in love and you say you’re not, but sometimes people don’t realise it. You might not even be in love, I can’t tell you how to feel or help you understand it. When you realise what you’re feeling your heart will just know and go, oh I understand now.” With that said and done, Francis patted him on the shoulder and took his leave, leaving Alfred alone with a lot on his mind.

Alfred sat at his desk and thought about what the Diamond King had told him, trying to make sense of all of it. It couldn’t be that simple, could it? He couldn’t be in love, Arthur just confused him with his strange request. That was it, he just got confused and didn’t know how to handle it, and there was no way Arthur was in love with him. Arthur was just a strange man who had a very strange personality he hid behind his polite and gentlemanly facade. It wasn’t love, it was just a complication of stupid coincidences that meant nothing.

“I’m not in love,” he snorted, taking his pen and tossing it onto a pile of paperwork. “I’m just... thrown off, that’s it.”

Convinced that it was just a mixture of strange thoughts and feelings stirred up by Francis and his silly diagnoses, Alfred rose from his desk and went for a walk to purge his mind of them. He walked through hallways, passed by rooms, strolled through gardens and courtyards, he went wherever his feet took him. He had no destination, he just kept walking as if he hoped that every step he took would slowly fix his troubled thoughts. In fact he tried not to think about Arthur all together as he was the source of these feelings, and tried to push everything about him into the back of his mind. He even tried to think of other things to help him forget about it all, like what was for dinner or what movie should he watch this evening or what video game he should play before bed.

However everywhere he went on his walk around the palace, something reminded him of Arthur and when he remembered Arthur, those feelings came back. A vase of fresh roses reminded him of when he helped him with his floral problem for the dinner party. The fact that they were supplied by the florist Madame Bleu, who even accused him of having special feelings for someone, made it all worse. He went into one of the morning rooms and spotted a tea set upon the table, making him remember how much Arthur loved his tea. Hearing one of the maids sing whilst she worked reminded him of how Arthur was a wonderful singer. Before he realised he had picked up his pace and was walking faster and faster, trying to escape all these memories he wanted to push away.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit,” he hissed at himself, finding it near impossible that he couldn’t get Arthur out of his mind.

He felt weird, like he was sick but didn’t have a headache or stomachache. Beads of sweat were rolling down his back and his heart was thumping hard and loud, he was actually worried someone could hear it.

“I need to get him out of my head,” he groaned as he slapped his temples in a desperate attempt to clear his mind, “he’s messing with me, they all are. Why is he making me feel like this? Did he curse me? I bet he cursed me, I don’t want to see him ever again! Screw that tea drinking bastard, he can go to hell! There is no way that I would ever fall for such a weird jerk!”

When he said that out loud he felt a pain in his chest and a new feeling washed over him, a feeling that left him with an empty sensation in his chest. He suddenly realised he hated himself for what he said but he didn’t understand it, he didn’t understand any of it. With a loud groan he kept walking faster and faster until he broke into a sprint, dashing into his room and dived straight into his bed, screaming into his pillow. He slammed his fists against the sheets and kicked his feet as these emotions he had were only making him feel angry and confused, he looked like a giant child throwing a tantrum.

Then he finally ceased moving and laid very still upon his bed, his face still buried in his pillow. With a loud huff he rolled over so he could stare up at the ceiling. He still couldn’t process these feelings or these thoughts, it all felt very strange. Was it fear? Shame? Why did he feel this way? He wanted someone to tell him, to help him understand these emotions. Francis had explained but his words only seemed to make everything worse. So who could he ask? Who could help him understand all this?

“Alfred?”

With a jolt Alfred looked up and to his horror he spotted the mystery girl standing by his bed. With a yelp he jumped off his bed and fell over, forcing himself to stand back up and adopt a defensive stance, stepping as far back from the girl as he could.

“You!”

The girl bore a guilty look as if she knew she did something wrong. “I’m sorry about before,” she said.

“So that was you!” Alfred backed off a little. “What’s the big idea? Showing me that horrible sight? You nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought I killed someone!”

“I didn’t mean it,” she insisted, “seeing you with that axe brought up something I tried to forget. Anyway, I’m not here to talk about that.”

“Oh no you don’t, don’t you dare change the subject!”

“But it’s important!”

“More important than you scaring me to death!?”

“It’s about Arthur.”

That response made Alfred stop dead in his tracks and his heart thumped hard once more. “What about him?”

The girl shifted a little closer and a smile was slowly forming upon her pale face. “Do you like him?”

“W-why are you asking?” Alfred grew even more flustered and turned his back on her. “He’s my friend, just a friend, dammit!”

“You’re saying one thing but your heart is saying something completely different.”

“N-no!”

“Why are you in denial? Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared! I’m not-... just drop it!”

“He likes you, you know.”

Hearing that from the mystery girl made him shiver suddenly. Even though Francis assumed that Arthur liked him he didn’t believe it, but hearing it from this girl who knew Arthur made something inside of him tremble. He peered over his shoulder to find her staring up at him with those large eyes of hers, reflecting her sincerity.

“He really, really likes you. His heart flutters every time you visit him, and you’ve made him smile so much. He’s even written a song about you.”

That made Alfred turn to face her, his cheeks flushing a little. “He... has?”

The girl nodded with a smile. “I’ll prove it.”

Before Alfred could ask her what she meant, his ears picked up on a sound. It took him a minute to realise it was singing and it took him another minute to recognise the voice who was singing it.

_Are you going to Scarborough Fair?_  
_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,_  
_Remember me to one who lives there,_  
_For he once was a true love of mine._

Turning round Alfred found himself back in Arthur’s garden, the mystery girl gone along with his room. The sky was almost golden in colour and the clouds were glowing a brilliant shade of rose, indicating that the sun was close to setting. The birds were singing their evening song but it wasn’t their singing that caught his attention. Looking around he couldn’t see Arthur but he heard his soothing singing voice.

_Have him make me a cambric shirt,_  
_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,_  
_Without no seam nor fine needle work,_  
_And then he’ll be a true love of mine._

Following the voice Alfred carefully navigated through the garden, the light quickly vanishing and it almost became to hard to see given the fact that the garden was surrounded by tall stone walls. He did watch where he stepped, not wanting to crush any of the flowers and continued to listen out for the song.

_Have him find me an acre of land,_  
_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_  
_Between the sea foam and over the sand,_  
_And then he’ll be a true love of mine._

 It was almost as if the song had put him in a trance, and he became even more desperate to locate him. He knew he was getting closer as the singing grew louder.

_Love imposes impossible tasks,_  
_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,_  
_Though not more than any heart asks,_  
_And I must know he’s a true love of mine._

Alfred finally rounded a corner and spotted Arthur, who sat upon a bench performing sone embroidery whilst singing away with his song.

_Dear, when thou has finished thy task,_  
_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,_  
_Come to me, my hand for to ask,_  
_For thou then art a true love of mine._

He couldn’t look away. There was just something about the way the dying light made his messy hair shimmer, the composed way he sat as he pulled away at the thread, the fact that he was surrounded by gorgeous flowers that were still damp from their recent watering, the droplets sparkling in the dying light. He just looked so different, as if he was seeing him in a completely different light. It was making his heart beat ridiculously fast and he couldn’t think as to why. His eyes seemed to sparkle more, his voice sounded far more soothing than it did before, and there was this air around him that just made his presence stand out more yet for in perfectly with the scenery around him.

“Alfred?”

He flinched upon realising that Arthur had finally noticed him, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice that he had been standing in plain sight. In these situations he’d usually greet Arthur in his casual way with his laidback charm but he found that he couldn’t move or even get his voice to work.

Arthur just stared at him, not realising that his guest had heard him singing. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” He placed his needlework down and stood up. He smiled sincerely and slowly walked over towards him. “I hope I didn’t offend you with that I said last time, it was a silly thing of me to say.”

As Arthur began approaching him, Alfred found his heart began to beat faster and he made the mistake of taking a cautionary step back. “I-I... I... um... I...” He couldn’t even begin to form a sentence.

Arthur had noticed his behaviour instantly and was beginning to get the wrong idea. “I know it was a bizarre thing of me to say, but you don’t have to act like that.”

Alfred was now desperately trying to say something for he could see the tell tale signs that Arthur was beginning to get upset, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. His throat felt like it was burning as he tried to get it to work, and he began to panic as the seconds ticked away.

“You’re being very rude,” snapped Arthur, tired with how Alfred was acting and planted his hands on his hips, “at least have the decency to say something!”

Still no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t say anything. It was only when Arthur snorted in anger and turned his back on him to stomp off that Alfred finally blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

“I liked your song!”

He said it so loud he was certain it echoed a few times within the enclosed space. It made Arthur stop dead in his tracks and he peered over his own shoulder, his pale cheeks glowing with a shade of pink.

“You... heard that?”

Alfred nodded furiously. “Y-yeah, and I thought it was a very nice song, so... yeah... it was nice.”

Arthur turned back around and now appeared a little bashful. “I’ve... been working on that for a while... it needs some work but-...”

“No, no! It’s fine the way it is!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I liked the part about the shirt and the sea and... and the herbs and the bit about the true love and-...” Alfred could feel his face burning when he noticed how Arthur was blushing when he mentioned that part, realising that he actually looked really cute when he did that. “It’s all a great song! I loved every bit of it!”

After managing to get that all out, an awkward silence developed between them and Alfred was desperately trying to think of a way to end it. Thankfully he didn’t have to as Arthur closed the distance between. “You’ve actually come at a good time.”

“I have?”

Arthur beckoned Alfred to follow him and they walked over to the centre of the garden where one of the five trees he was growing stood. He sat down on the ground, glancing up at Alfred as he patted the empty patch next to him, silently telling him to join him. Alfred tensed up for a minute but eventually planted his rear upon the grass, his whole body completely stiff as he found sitting next to Arthur was making him feel weird again.

“I’d say you have about two minutes.”

“Huh?” Alfred glanced over at Arthur. “Two minutes till what?”

“To guess what trees these are,” replied Arthur with a chuckle. “The sun will set soon.”

With that said Alfred glanced up and could now see the stars appearing in the darkening sky. Alfred had always been fascinated with the stars ever since he was a child and he recognised some of the constellations.

“Looks like a clear night,” he said. “You’ll be able to see all the stars.”

“The weather will get wet soon,” sighed Arthur. “Good for my garden but not for me.”

“Does the rain make you sick?”

“What? No, no. I just can’t sit outside in the rain. I’ll be stuck indoors.”

“Oh...”

The awkward silence returned. “O-ok, are they pine trees?”

Arthur gave Alfred an unimpressed look. “Pine trees? Really?”

“Ok, ok, um... maple...? No I said that already didn’t I?”

“Four times now.”

“Willow... no, willows aren’t like that... um...”

“Thirty seconds left.”

“Don’t rush me.”

“I’m not rushing you, the sun will set in thirty seconds.”

Alfred groaned and fell onto his back. “I don’t know,” he whined, “I have no idea what they are.”

As he stared up into the star filled sky and wondered if he should start counting them to pass the time, Arthur’s face suddenly popped into view and Alfred felt tense again as he looked up into those emerald eyes. With his face so close, he should’ve been able to feel his breath upon his face but of course he couldn’t.

“I think I was being unfair,” confessed Arthur.

“About what?” Alfred felt really nervous having him so close.

“About this guessing game, you’d never figure it out until you see them.”

“See what?”

Before Arthur could reply, a faint glow caught his attention. “Ah, its time.”

Alfred sat back up and noticed that the faint glowing was coming from the tree. He watched in amazement as the tree began to do something that trees don’t normally do, at least what normal trees don’t do. The leaves began to change colour, merging from a dull purple to a brilliant blue that began to shimmer in the dark. The bark began to glow and seemed to transform from organic wood to a well polished silver, it sounded like it was singing as it began to illuminate the darkened garden. Looking around he could see the same thing had happened to the other four trees, they were now glowing a gentle light and lit up the entire garden with a beautiful glow. It was almost magical as the flowers that surrounded them seem to remain in bloom, even with the sun gone.

Looking back at the centre tree, Alfred stared at it and then he finally recognised what trees these were. “They’re... Elder Trees.”

“Oh, so you do know them?”

Glancing over at Arthur, he found the man staring back at him with a subtle proud glint in his eyes. “You grew Elder trees!?”

Arthur laughed at the way Alfred stared at him with a dumbfounded look. “You make it sound like it was difficult. Well, it was difficult but I persisted and now look at them. They’ve almost fully matured so I still have to be careful.”

“I... I mean... that’s really impressive... I mean really, really impressive.” Alfred could only stare at the trees in awe, not realising that this whole he had been in the presence of not one but five Elder trees, the rarest of all trees in the known world. He only had the one in his palace but Arthur had five of them and he grew them all by himself, that was an achievement in itself.

“They glow like this only at night, indicating that they’re close to maturing. Once they’ve fully matured they’ll remain like this during the day as well and grow even taller. It’s a defensive mechanism to keep themselves hidden I think since their bark is still very fragile, they’ll be impossible to harm once the bark hardens.”

“You sound like you know a lot about them.”

“Oh not nearly enough, there is still so much more I could learn from them. Their magical properties, how they affect the nature around them, the rate that they grow. Calling them trees is an insult as they’re anything but ordinary trees.”

Alfred chuckled as Arthur continued to go and on about them. “You must be proud.

“I am!” Arthur sighed as he gazed at them. “They’re so beautiful aren’t they?”

As Alfred glanced up at Arthur, he suddenly felt something strange within his chest. He stared at the way Arthur was gazing at his trees, how he seemed to stand out, as the beautiful glow of the trees seemed to make his presence stand out more than them. How the light reflected in his eyes, how his hair shimmered, how his pale skin seemed to glow in the light of the Elder trees. Even the way he smiled was almost mesmerising.

It was then that in that single moment that all of those confusing thoughts and unusual feelings stirring within him suddenly stopped. They all pooled together and from all that mess he was able to pull out something that made complete and utter sense to him, as if he had at long last figured out what was wrong with him. He now understood why his heart was thumping so hard, why his mind was a mess and why he was unable to understand any of it. It was as time had stood still and allowed him to figure out what was wrong with him. Everything made sense now and he wasn’t afraid and he wasn’t disgusted. He was actually happy, and a warm sensation of joy began to spread through him.

“Alfred I said, aren’t they beautiful?” repeated Arthur, his eyes still locked on his trees.

“...yeah,” replied Alfred, his eyes remaining on Arthur, “they are.”

——————————

Yao quickly rushed through the halls of the palace as he made his way to the King’s bedroom. It was still early but he wanted to make certain that Alfred was up and getting ready for when they had to go greet the Heart Kingdom court. He had been concerned ever since yesterday afternoon where Alfred had been acting strangely, and he could only hope that he was feeling better after a good nights rest. The last thing they needed was to offend the Heart King as he was a very strict man.

Alfred had been acting weird these past few weeks, and he wasn’t certain on how to fix it. He wasn’t just concerned for him as his Jack but he was also concerned as his friend. He had arranged days for him to relax at the spa, tried to lighten his workload, even tried to talk to him about it, but Alfred just wasn’t talking and even when he did talk none of it made sense. He had hoped Francis would fix the problem but even he was having a hard time getting it out of him.

Speaking of the devil, he spotted Francis up ahead and was surprised to see him up so early. “Your majesty, I wasn’t expecting to see you up at this hour.”

Francis shrugged with a yawn. “I went to bed early last night and I woke up a few hours ago unable to sleep. Where are you off to in such a hurry and so early in the morning?”

Yao straightened out his hat as he continued towards his end destination. “To wake up Alfred, I need to make certain he’s ready to greet the Heart King.”

“Ah yes, Ludwig isn’t so laidback like the rest of us,” chuckled Francis as he followed the Spade Jack. “Running around after a young King must be so exhausting for you, no?”

Not even Yao could deny that. “Don’t get me started,” he huffed, “it’s times like this that I wish we did have a Queen.”

“He has been looking into that you know.”

“And I’m glad that he is, but until the Spade Kingdom gets a Queen then both he and I have to work twice as hard to keep everything running.”

As the Diamond King and the Spade Jack rounded a corner that lead to the hallway where Alfred’s room was located, they spotted a few maids cleaning up the furniture, polishing the walls, and placing freshly picked roses in the vases, all of them getting ready for the Heart Court to arrive. Yao praised them for their hard work and Francis couldn’t help but wink at them, earning him some giggles of glee. Standing outside Alfred’s room, Yao gently knocked at the door.

“Alfred, are you-...”

Before he could finish his sentence the door opened and out came a fully dressed Alfred, looking like a new man as he walked out of his room. He didn’t look tired at all, he was wide awake and bearing an unusual smile.

“Oh good,” said Yao, surprised to see Alfred up and dressed as smartly as he had ever been, “you’re up. I just came by-...”

“Good morning Yao,” said Alfred suddenly, pulling the Jack into a hug. “You looking great this morning! Ready to greet that stiff Ludwig? Can’t wait! Now let’s go get breakfast!”

He released the startled Yao who could only stare at Alfred with dazed shock and walked away with a large smile on his face. He then spotted the Diamond King and pointed his fingers at him whilst clicking his tongue.

“Hey Francis, beautiful day isn’t it?”

“Er... qui, it is.”

“Great, see you at breakfast!”

Francis stared with confused amazement as Alfred trotted off down the hallway, humming a tune he had never heard before. He continued humming as he pulled a maid into a small twirl, making her gasp out loud, and stole a single rose from one of the vases. He twisted it around with his fingers as he held it up to his face and continued walking down the hallway. His hums echoed down the hall and the maids stared off after him, wondering what that was all about.

Both Yao and Francis stared at him, the pair of them completely lost as to what had just happened. “What’s gotten into him?” pondered Yao out loud.

It only took a second for Francis to realise what had happened. He suddenly recognise the change in Alfred’s mannerism and could practically taste the emotions dripping from him, smelling them as they filled the air. There was no longer any confusion, there was just pure awareness and acceptance of those feelings he had been trying to reject for so long and it was beautiful.

His bewildered expression changed into one full of glee and he clapped his hands quickly as the realisation hit him hard across the face. “C’est beau, il est amoureux!”

“What?” Yao wasn’t too knowledgeable about Francis’ language. “What is it?”

Francis could only continue to smile like a child and danced on the spot. “My dear Jack, your King is in love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Arthur is singing is Scarborough Fair, my personal favourite cover is by Celtic Woman


	21. Chapter 21

Staring into the blue sky Alfred could not help but sigh as he admired how beautiful it was, how it just filled up the entire space above him, he could just fall into it. It was just the right shade, not too bright and not too dark, and there were a few fluffy clouds that made the blue stand out more. Even the birds that flew high above him appeared to look much more fairer than he was used to, their lovely singing filling the air and fuelling his heart.

“Alfred, focus!”

“Hmm?”

Alfred’s face was yanked down so he found himself staring in the golden eyes of his Jack, who was looking more panicky than normal. “Alfred, they’ll be here any minute now so could you please get your head out of the clouds!”

“Oh right,” chuckled Alfred, still smiling and his blue eyes were filled with stars and a dreamy look, “sorry, just admiring what a beautiful day it is.”

Yao groaned as his King continued to act like he was in a daze. “Alfred I mean it!”

“It’s fine,” sighed Alfred, “it’s a beautiful day to greet the Heart Kingdom, huh?”

“It is but as the King you have to act more formal.”

“Hmm mmm.”

“Alfred, I will smack you.”

“Huh uh.”

“I mean it!”

Alfred just smirked and patted Yao on the shoulder. “Relax Yao, I got this. Just relax and appreciate the beautiful day all around us.”

Yao dropped his head with a moan. “It’s days like this I wish Francis was wrong.”

Alfred chuckled once again and insisted that he was focused on the task at hand. He stared out at the gorgeous river that sparkled in the sunlight and sighed heavily. The port he and Yao stood in was so clean it looked the place had just been built and the decorations were spectacular to look at, all carefully arranged by the port staff. The royal guard were stood to attention and the harbour master and his team stood by, ready to greet the visiting Heart Court. In the distance he could see the crowds on the other side of the river, and some spectators were out on their boats as they awaited the arrival of their Kingdom’s guests. Everything was ready to go and the only thing Yao was concerned about was Alfred’s dreamy like state, his mind currently off in another world.

He couldn’t exactly help it. Alfred felt like he was smack dab in the centre of the universe, his heart felt like it was floating and a wonderful sensation within him felt like he was soaring through the heavens. It was like fireworks and celebrations were constantly going off in his soul, that no matter what challenge that came his way he could face them head on with a smile on his face. He just wanted to hug everyone he met, pick every flower he saw and arrange it into a beautiful bouquet, and sing his heart out as he run through the streets. The smile on his face was as broad as his shoulders, and it was causing a few people to stare at him out of curiosity, wondering why their King was in such a giddy mood.

The reason? Alfred had recently figured out he was deeply in love with Arthur, and upon coming to realising this emotion that had stirred within him he was over the moon.

Alfred sighed as he thought of all of his memories regarding Arthur, allowing them to flood his mind. He saw him in a different light now, he no longer saw him as a odd man who lived in a garden, now he saw Arthur was cute and loveable even when he got angry there was just something adorable about him. His beautiful singing voice, his many talents, even the fact that he was an awful cook made him seem more loveable. There was also something charming about him, the way he looked and dressed, his smart clothes and his polished shoes. His messy golden hair, his emerald green eyes that sparkles in the light, and even his thick eyebrows that made them stand out. Alfred even thought about the smiles he made and those memories made him feel even more giddy. It also made other feelings and other desires blossom within his mind, like how Arthur’s body was so thin and how slender his limbs were. There was just something attractive about his body and Alfred felt a new desire towards him, although he was still entering new territory and was still unsure of how to deal with these desires, he was still eager to see them through, but above all else he couldn’t wait to see him again.

The flicking of someone’s fingers snapped him out of his daydreaming, and he glanced down at an agitated Yao. “They’re nearly here! Now wake up and get ready to greet them.” With a smile, Alfred gave him a quick thumbs up and looked down the river to see a beautiful ship slowly but gracefully approaching the port.

The Kingdom of Hearts wasn’t that far away, in fact it was almost the same distance as the Diamond Kingdom, only it was surrounded by mountains and vast wild plains that made travelling by land rather difficult. So they came via a ship, sailing round the coast and entering the Spade Kingdom down the wide river that ran through it. It wasn’t as fast but it did allow them to arrive in style and already their ship was attaching a lot of applause from the crowds. The royal ship of the Heart Kingdom was beautifully decorated, their sails looked like it was embroidered with patterns of crimson and gold, their flags flapping in the wind as if they were one with the air. The ship itself was covered in amazing etchings and carvings that looked like a god had come down and made it himself, it looked insanely natural. It sailed through the river, carving through the waves like it could carve through rocks. A few security vessels sailed next to it, making certain none of the spectators in their boats got too close, shooing away those who did try to get near it.

As it drew closer to the port, the crew from the ship threw ropes out to the port crew and they caught them whilst barking out commands, tying them around the bollards and gently pulling her in. The sails were lowered and the sound of the ship’s engines rumbled as it eased itself into dock, the crew dashing about professionally and diligently as they prepared their ship to come alongside. Once it was stable and fully secure, a gangway was lowered from the ship and the royal guard stood to attention ready to greet the members of the Heart Court, expecting to see them march down the ramp to meet them.

Alfred braced himself for when he would see the Heart King standing atop the gangway. However it was not him he saw, it was a pair of excited dogs dashing down the ramp and barking like mad, dragging someone down with them who stumbled and cried out in terror as he clung to the leashes.

“Alphonse! Klaus! Wait! Stop! Down! Please!”

Both Alfred and Yao could only stare in bewildered amazement as the pair of dogs ran about the port, a terrified young man being pulled and yanked in all directions as he vainly tried to get them under control. Alfred had heard the Heart Kingdom was a little strict when it came to law and order, so this was the last thing he expected to see when greeting them. He wanted to laugh but he could practically feel Yao daring him not to, so he held it in. He did feel sorry for the poor man who was at the mercy of those large dogs.

“Alphonse, stop! Heel boys! Klaus that’s not a toy! No, I’m not a toy! That’s not a toy, no! Somebody help me! I’m going to get torn apart! I’m too pretty to die! Waaaaah!”

Before Alfred could even consider stepping in, a loud voice cut through the air like a sword. “Alphonse! Klaus! Heel!”

Almost immediately the dogs ceased their racket and sat perfectly still side by side, allowing the terrified man to catch his breath. Looking up the gangway Alfred spotted the King of Hearts glaring down at the exhausted man. “Feliciano, what have I told you about handling my dogs!? I warned you about riling them up!”

The exhausted man whined silently as he looked up at his King. “Sorry Ludwig, I think they got a little excited to get off the ship.”

The Heart King rolled his eyes and someone else appeared by his side. “I think it was Feliciano himself who was excited to get off the ship,” chuckled a short man with dark hair.

“Don’t encourage him Kiku,” huffed the Heart King.

Alfred was desperately trying to hold in a fit of giggles, forgetting that the Heart Court was a good source of entertainment. There was King Ludwig himself, a tall muscular man with sleek hair that looked like it was made from gold and eyes as blue as the cold sky. A hard working man who was the youngest of twelve brothers, was a neat freak and followed every single rule down to the last letter. When it came to his work he liked to keep everything ridiculously organised and running like clockwork, he was actually very good at what he did and under his rule the Heart Kingdom has prospered. He was actually a rather friendly person but he came across as quite aggressive and had zero experience when it came to any form of relationship, though he was improving according to a good source. Alfred had to admit he felt intimidated by him when he was younger, of course today Ludwig was someone who you almost felt sorry for and the reason most people felt this way about him was because of the Heart Jack.

The Heart Jack was in fact the young man who got dragged about by the dogs, a rather laid back man named Feliciano who had been described by many as hopeless. He had been described as cowardly, a picky glutton, and not that bright, and even a lost cause. According to Yao he was a terrible excuse for a Jack and never got his work up to satisfactory standards and only made the work piled up, he and the other Jacks were still confused as to how the Heart Kingdom got anything done. In fact he was constantly chasing around after his King, and was reportedly rather clingy with him. It was also shocking to learn he was descended from a famous and legendary King of Hearts who was responsible for uniting the four Kingdoms during a time of war and strife. Still despite all that he was actually a friendly person, especially around women and was quite the artist, there was supposedly a gallery erected in the Heart Kingdom dedicated to his artwork and it was the No. 1 tourist attraction there. There was also the strange fact that he was crazily addicted to pasta, and he ate more than Alfred himself could in a day.

Last but not least was the Queen of Hearts, the modest and gentle Kiku. His skin was as white as snow and his hair was as dark as midnight, with eyes as gold as the sun and a personality that was gentle as a flower but was as strong as steel. He was a polite man who was older than he looked, and very wise despite his lack of knowledge when it came to other cultures beside his own. He wasn’t ignorant, he just had a hard time adapting according to Ludwig, and he was always interested to learn. Despite his traditional nature he was quite a genius with tech and liked showing off his advanced technology to the Spade King, enjoying his reaction to the normal things he did on a day by day basis. Alfred had met him in his youth and the pair of them were actually good friends despite their huge difference in personalities. Kiku acted as the glue who held the Heart Court together, helping Ludwig to keep calm when he was stressed and encouraging Feliciano when it came to his work. He was respected in his land and loved by all.

The three of them were an odd bunch but they worked together to keep their Kingdom running. They were close despite their clashing personalities and it was quite admirable.

Ludwig marched down the gangway with Kiku gracefully following. Alfred approached and held out his hand to greet him, bearing his charismatic smile. “Nice to see you again Ludwig, you been hitting the gym again?”

Ludwig discreetly enjoyed the praise as he was a fitness fanatic but kept a professional face. “Yah, it is good to see you again Alfred, I’ve been looking forward to this for the past few weeks.” He firmly shook Alfred’s hand. “I apologise about Feliciano, I’ve been trying to train them.”

“Him or the dogs?” joked Alfred.

“Both,” admitted Ludwig with a disappointed frown. Feliciano remained ignorant as he petted a wandering cat.

Alfred then turned his attention to Kiku and the pair of them lowered their heads as they bowed. “Great to see you too Kiku, how’ve you been?” he asked as he raised his head.

Kiku raised his head with a smile. “It is good to see you once more Alfred, you look very different from the last time I saw you.” He tilted his head as he stared at the young King. “Has something changed?”

Alfred blushed and chuckled nervously, forgetting that Kiku was almost like Francis in how he could sense something had changed in an individual. “You could say that.”

“I would very much like to hear it.” Kiku seemed intrigued upon noticing a distinct change in Alfred. “By the way, I brought those sweet cakes you like by the way.” Alfred felt his mouth water as Kiku revealed a decorated box filled with treats. The Heart Kingdom was known for their delicious cakes, he could eat them for days without loosing interest.

“Feliciano, don’t just stand there in your day dreaming,” barked Ludwig, finally noticing how the Heart Jack wasn’t paying attention. “I told you that you have to be the Alpha when handling the dogs, not the Omega!”

Feliciano just lazily looked up and said, “Veeeee, Ludwig look at this kitty, isn’t he adorable?” A laid back smile on his face.

Ludwig groaned as he rubbed his brows. “Mien gott,” he grumbled.

After a few more exchange of words, Alfred escorted his guests back to the palace. Since the port was so close to the palace they actually walked back through a street that had been closed off to allow the Heart Kingdom Court to walk through without fear of getting bombarded with eager spectators. Ludwig appreciated the stroll, insisting that they needed it after spending two days at sea. He admitted that his legs were a little stiff and he was eager to go for a jog. It did also explain why his dogs acted so crazy after getting off the ship, spending that long on a boat would drive any animal insane. Feliciano hummed a tune as he walked beside the dogs, who were acting on their best behaviour around their master though Alfred couldn’t resist patting one of them. Kiku has gotten himself involved in a conversation with Yao, the pair of them sharing some history with each other.

Upon arriving at the palace the Heart Court was escorted to their rooms, Alfred had made certain that they had easy access to one of the large courtyards where they could relax and where they could do their daily workouts. Already the dogs were running about upon the green grass and rolling in the mulch beneath the shrubberies, much to Ludwig’s dismay. 

As they got settled in, Francis along with Brasch and Erika popped in to visit them and the three courts exchanged greetings, getting some small talk in and just catching up on general. However Francis seemed to have other ideas and he insisted that he had to borrow Alfred and even invited Kiku to join them. Unable to say no, Alfred left the Heart King and Jack with his own Jack and the Diamond Queen and Jack, following the Diamond King into a small drawing room.

“Is something the matter Francis?” asked Alfred, unsure why the Diamond King was so eager to speak with him as he closed the door.

Francis smirked and trotted over to Kiku, the Heart Queen subtly showing his curiosity. “My dear Kiku, did you know our young Alfred has had his own heart stolen?”

Alfred blushed whilst Kiku actually appeared shocked. “Really?” He looked over at Alfred, bringing his hand up to his face. “Forgive me but I assumed you would have difficulty finding a romantic partner.”

“Hey, Hey, Hey!” Alfred swatted his hands in the air as his face burned with embarrassment. “Francis what the hell? Don’t go telling other people!”

Kiku couldn’t help smirking a little at Alfred’s outburst. “So it’s true then?”

For a moment Alfred felt his voice get stuck in his own throat as the two men stared at him almost intensely. His cheeks were still tingling from the embarrassment, but after denying it so much until he finally realised his own emotions he knew he couldn’t lie to them.

Running his hand upon the back of his head, Alfred smiled a little as he answered with a, “yeah, it’s true,” in a bashful tone.

That response made Francis squeal with delight and he grabbed Alfred by his coat and pushed him onto a chair. He stood over him as he began demanding answers for an onslaught of questions. “So how did you figure it out? When did you realise your feelings? Has he returned them?”

“It’s a he?” asked Kiku, who wasn’t bothered by the gender, he just assumed Alfred was more into girls.

“Did you confess or did he confess first?” 

“Who is he?”

“Does he even know?”

“Can I meet him?”

“Did he make you realise? It did you finally figure it out?”

“How did you meet?”

Alfred felt like he was being interrogated. “Could you both let me explain!?” he shouted, unable to take it anymore as the pair relentlessly bombarded him with queries.

Francis chuckled sheepishly after realising he got carried away, clearing his throat as he asked, “sorry, so... how did you come to realise your true feelings?”

Alfred fidgeted in his chair as he told the pair of his last visit in Arthur’s garden. He told them how he heard him singing a beautiful song just as the sun was setting, how he showed him these special plants he had been growing and how in that moment he finally figured out his feelings towards Arthur. It was like his troubled heart had finally settled and it now heated out of pure joy. Francis appeared utterly delighted and although Kiku was happy for him he was still confused.

“Pardon me but, who is Arthur? And what is this about a garden?”

He has almost forgotten that Kiku was still new to this. “Oh, I randomly get transported to a garden without anyone realising, and in this garden lives this guy called Arthur. I can’t touch anything there and Arthur is the only one who can see me.”

Kiku slowly blinked as he tried to process all that. “Pardon?”

“I know, I know, I thought it was weird too,” chuckled Francis, “but I believe Alfred here speaks the truth.” As Kiku stood there trying to understand all this, Francis returned his attention to Alfred. “Now then Alfred, it’s time we have the talk.”

Alfred suddenly frowned. “I know how sex works Francis,” he huffed angrily.

“No, no,” laughed Francis, “I mean, I need to teach you a few things about love.”

“Huh?” 

Francis leaned upon Alfred’s shoulder, smiling confidently as he explained. “Love is such an amazing feeling, it’s a new sensation all together and when you realise you’re in love it’s like a whole new world of opportunities has opened up for you.”

“Well... yeah, I know-...”

“I’m not finished.” Francis then seated himself down across from Alfred. “Love is a game when you’re trying to achieve it but when you get it in your grasp it becomes a commitment. You’re still young Alfred and, no offence, but I doubt you’ll be a good lover.”

Alfred did feel a little offended. “Oh come on, it can’t be that-...”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, it’s exactly an attitude like that what will cost you from achieving a relationship formed from true love!”

Although he wanted to argue back, Alfred knew that Francis was the expert when it came to matters revolving around relationships and love. He knew he cared immensely for Arthur but he didn’t want to risk messing it all up. In fact the very idea that he could loose Arthur due to his own lack of experience made him panic a little.

“So what should I do? Do I have to tell him? Or do I wait for him? Or-...”

“Now, now, no need to fret,” insisted Francis, “so I assume that even though you’ve come to realise your own feelings, do you know if he feels the same way?”

“B-but you said he was in love with me!”

Francis darted his eyes away from him for a moment. “I may have exaggerated a little bit,” he admitted.

Now Alfred felt his heart sink. Ever since Francis claimed that Arthur was in love with him despite never meeting him, Alfred had assumed just that. Now Francis was saying he made it all up and it was now leaving him wondering if Arthur really did love him. Was he just being weird? Was that song about someone else? However he suddenly recalled what the mystery girl had told him, and despite her strange behaviour he did believe her as she hadn’t exactly lied to him yet. She was hiding something from him though, he just couldn’t tell what.

“So, do you truly believe he feels the same way about you?” asked Francis, leaning in a little.

Alfred thought about the song, the way Arthur smiled at him when they greeted each other, the cute way he got angry at him whenever he said something stupid. Alfred knew he was terrible at guessing at how other people felt, he couldn’t even guess what he was feeling half the time, but now he knew and he was certain that, despite his stubbornness, Arthur felt the same way.

“I believe he does,” declared Alfred with a small smile.

“Good enough,” replied Francis, “so neither of you have confessed?”

Alfred blushed. “N-no, not yet.”

“Let me guess, you’re going to wait for him to admit it first?”

He couldn’t deny that he hoped Arthur would, as he found that he wasn’t exactly sure how to confess to him. “Yes,” he admitted.

Francis rolled his eyes. “Believe me Alfred, confessing first not only gets it out in the open fast but also shows off your confidence, and the more confidence and bravado you show off the more your potential lover will have faith in you.”

“So what do I say? Hey I like you, wanna go out sometime?”

“Dear god no,” gasped Francis, “you just need three things. The right words, the right place, and the right mood. You have to tell him with words that could make up a poem that would would even woo Ludwig. You have to be in an romantic place, not overly romantic, but a special place that is significant for the pair of you. Lastly you both have to be sharing the same mood, confessing to him whilst he’s upset or angry will not work. Get all three of these in check and you’ll be kissing each other until dawn.”

The advice seemed to have boosted Alfred’s confidence, and his eagerness as the idea of sharing a kiss got him excited, but that last part made the smile on his face fade. “I can’t kiss him.”

Francis chuckled as he waggled his eyebrows. “Well I’ll be happy to show you how to deliver the perfect kiss.”

“No, no,” sighed Alfred, shaking his head. “I mean I can’t kiss him... I can’t even touch him.”

That made Francis utter an “ah,” sound as he recalled that Alfred couldn’t physically touch anything whilst in this garden, not even other people. It would certainly make pursuing a relationship challenging if not difficult. Alfred realised his only chance for any of this to happen was to meet with Arthur face to face, he only had to find out where he lived.

“Pardon me but I’m still trying to understand this,” said Kiku suddenly, “you met a man in a garden where you randomly visit and you cannot touch anything? It sounds all very bizarre.”

Alfred realised the Heart Queen was terribly confused and felt bad for ignoring him for a while. “It happened out of the blue. I could be standing here or chatting with someone and then POOF, I end up in this garden where Arthur lives.”

“And this happens often?”

“At least once a day, twice if I’m lucky.”

“And no one in your kingdom is concerned?”

“No one even knows it happens, not even Yao believes me.”

“But you said it happens when you’re talking with someone. Surely they’d notice if you disappear.”

“They don’t. I could spend hours over in the garden but no time passes here.”

Kiku now looked really confused. “That... doesn’t make sense.”

“I know it’s a weird story but I assure you it’s the truth.”

“No I mean, if time passes when you’re in this garden how can time stop here?”

Alfred was about to answer but he himself suddenly realised how strange this was. He actually never thought about it before but now after Kiku had pointed it out it was making him wonder how the heck did any of that make sense. Why did time stop here if it didn’t in the garden? He spent hours with Arthur but when he returned to the palace it was like he never left. After visiting the garden for so long he never questioned it, but now that it had been brought to his attention it got him thinking. He should know, he was the King of Spades who wielded the very essence of time and space with his very hands, so how had he never noticed this until now? He glanced up and could see Kiku was still waiting for an answer, and he actually appeared a little worried.

“I... actually don’t know... I never thought about it.”

Kiku was now troubled by this. “I don’t mean to criticise you Alfred but as the King of Spades I’d be a little more concerned about all this. Disappearing into a strange garden without anyone’s knowledge? It sounds very risky to me.”

Francis could tell Kiku was about to deliver one of his lectures. “Now Kiku, there is no need for concern. Alfred has been investigating this.”

“Has he?”

Francis insisted that the young King had been looking into it and the two Kings brought him into Alfred’s office, showing Kiku all the data and information that he had gathered on all the mysteries that the Spade King was going through. He could see how Alfred had been looking into the mystery of the missing Spade Queen and something regarding a strange cover up involving the Joker. Alfred also pointed out that he solved part of the garden mystery, how a strange girl was sending him there. He then showed Kiku all the knowledge he had on the mystery girl and it was this that caught the Heart Queen’s interest.

“A strange little girl in a frilly dress?”

“Yeah, she’s friendly I guess but she’s super mysterious.”

Kiku looked like he was thinking deeply after the mention of the strange girl. “Interesting,” he murmured.

“Something up?”

Kiku glanced over at Alfred. “I’ve actually had unusual dreams about a strange girl in a frilly dress... with eyes like a starry sky.”

“Really?” Now that got Alfred intrigued as Kiku’s unique power was prophetic dreams. 

Many had come to him hoping for some insight into their futures, but Kiku explained that his dreams only showed him things that he needed to see. He also had to figure out the meaning behind his dreams as they didn’t exactly give him a straight answer. He was able to predict a great flood in the Diamond Kingdom and by warning them they saved hundreds of people and protected their land. When Francis asked him what he dreamed about to realise what was to come, Kiku explained he dreamt that he found a deck of cards thrown into a bowl of water, the Diamond card disintegrating into the water as it overflowed and flooded onto the floor. It was an easy prediction according to Kiku, but he had others that took him months to figure out.

If he had dreamt about the strange girl then Alfred was curious to know what the rest of the dream was about. “Tell me the dream,” asked Alfred.

Kiku frowned a little. “It was a few weeks ago actually,” he muttered, he didn’t seem too keen to share but he did anyway. “I was in a forest and I saw a little girl weeping beside four open graves, each with a silver casket inside.” Kiku then appeared a little queasy. “The caskets then began to leak large amounts of blood, it filled the graves and began to flood the forest floor and the trees sunk into it until I was standing in a lake of red. It was just me and the girl until she pointed at someone...” With a exhausting sigh, Kiku sat down on a nearby chair and he appeared a little faint.

“Are you alright?” asked Alfred, approaching him carefully.

Kiku forced on a smile. “I am, sorry. It’s just...” Kiku went silent and now appeared troubled. “I’m sorry, the trip wore me out. I think I need to rest.”

Alfred didn’t want to force Kiku to continue if it meant stressing him out although he was dead curious about the dream and what it meant. Four open graves, silver caskets, a lake of blood, it sounded more like a nightmare than a dream. He actually felt sorry for the Heart Queen for dreaming up such a thing. Francis walked over to Kiku’s side and offered to walk him out, the Diamond King pulling him up and escorting him out the office. Alfred expressed his desire for Kiku to rest up and promised to see the pair of them at dinner. The pair of them wished Alfred a good day before leaving him alone.

Finding himself alone with his thoughts, Alfred couldn’t help but wonder what that nightmarish dream meant and who or what was the little girl pointing to? Whatever it was it made Kiku feel queasy, and that was a worrying thought as the Heart Queen was quite a strong willed individual. He glanced over at his whiteboard and decided to add that piece of information to it, wondering how it contributed to the mystery. He stood back and looked at it all, sighing as he still had no idea how any of it meant.

Despite his concern for all these things, Alfred could not help but think back to Francis’ advice. “The right words, the right mood, and the right place.” He clutched his fist over his heart as it fluttered at the thought of him and Arthur conveying their feelings for each other. 

—————————

His heart was beating a hundred beats a second as he sat across from Arthur, watching him intensely as he stirred the milk into his tea. The gardener bringing the ceramic cup up to his rose coloured lips, the steam from his hot tea swirling around his pale face. Those green eyes of his glanced up at him, filled with curiosity and a small hint of concern.

“Alfred, what’s the matter?”

“N-nothing,” stuttered Alfred, fidgeting where he sat. Arthur didn’t seem convinced with that small statement but chose to ignore it as he drank his tea. Alfred could only try and get himself to calm down but he was finding it difficult given the situation. 

Moments ago he had just sat down for lunch with Ludwig and Francis when he found himself back in the garden where Arthur was having one of his many tea breaks. He was ecstatic to be back so soon but now that he understood his feelings for Arthur, he was also a little nervous. He wanted to say so many things to him but he didn’t know what to say or how to even say it. He just remembered what Francis told him and tried to play it cool, he just had to wait for the right moment, get him in the right mood and then use the right words... oh right, Alfred forgot he wasn’t that good with words.

“I’ll just wing it,” he told himself.

“What?” Arthur had heard him.

“Oh... um... nice weather today, right?”

“Yes... it is.”

Alfred bit his tongue, he really wanted to get his feelings out but he didn’t know what to say.

“Arthur?”

“Yes?”

Alfred tried to think of something subtle and romantic. “Your... hair isn’t that messy today... I mean-... you’re looking ok, I mean-... your... um... looking presentable today.” He wanted to punch himself from saying something so stupid.

“Thank you...?” Arthur seemed to appreciate that comment but he also appeared dumbfounded. “You too I suppose.”

Damn, he needed to keep the compliments going. “Um... your Elder trees are looking great too.” Alfred glanced over at the Elder trees, the five of them looking like ordinary trees in the sunlight. “They look great, really great!”

“It’ll be many more years until you get to see them in their full glory,” boasted Arthur, “there has been so many myths surrounding these trees, none of them have been proven true or false.”

“Really?” Alfred tried to show interest.

“Yes, some say they bare fruit that grants you immortality and some say the fruit is highly poisonous. Some even say they don’t bare fruit at all.”

Alfred didn’t recall the Elder tree in his palace bearing any fruit. “Would you eat it if it did bear fruit?”

“No,” snorted Arthur, “I would never risk it. I bet you would though.”

“N-no! ...maybe... I’d get it checked out first.”

That made Arthur chuckle. “They say it’s taste is as bitter as sand.”

Alfred shivered in disgust, he hated bitter fruit more than anything. “Screw that then. Wait, how would they know how it tastes?”

“No one truly knows, perhaps it was a made up one to protect them from gluttonous brats like you.”

“So what you’re saying is... the could be the sweetest fruit in the world?”

“Possibly?”

“Oh then I’d definitely want to try one.”

“Go right ahead, you’d either die or turn into a goblin after eating it.”

“Ew... never mind.”

“There are other myths surrounding them you know. That they’re not really trees, they just look like that because it’s how they form on our plane of existence. Some say they’re old gods, ancient spirits, divine entities from someplace we can’t comprehend.”

As Arthur continued to go on and on about the legends surrounding these rare trees, Alfred couldn’t help but lean forward and stare at him with a stupid smile upon his face. He truly did love this, being here with Arthur and listening to him prattle on about things. It made him appreciate the things he missed before, such as how cute Arthur could be, even when he was angry. Now that he realised he was in love with him, he saw him in a whole new light and everything about him just felt new and unreal. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to do, but due to certain circumstances he was unable to do most of that stuff. 

He was also aware that Arthur had the same feelings for him, he was just incredibly subtle about it... well not subtle, he just didn’t hint at it very well or he was too embarrassed to admit it. Maybe he was just waiting for Alfred to make the first move. Still he could see it whenever he looked at him, the way his green eyes sparkled at him and how his personality just lit up around him. His attitude towards him had changed since he met him, he was always happy to see him and he’d drop everything just to focus on him and him alone. Alfred just wished that he’d say something about it, he really wanted the pair of them to talk about it, but due to his lack of experience with romance he wasn’t certain on how to start a conversation on the very topic. It was at times like this he wished Francis was here.

Should he say something? He needed the right words and he was fairly certain the pair of them shared the right mood, still even though the garden was beautiful and was significant to the pair of them, none of it seemed exactly right, at least to Alfred. He liked to do things with a big bang, to turn something small into a huge spectacle with a lot of flash and style. He didn’t want to confess his feelings to Arthur in a place he saw him everyday, he wanted to express his love for him with a huge show, to literally blow him away with his affection. How though? 

“Some say Elder trees can do things that seem virtually impossible,” continued Arthur, “and if you rub their bark you get a whole years worth of good luck but that too is just a myth.”

“Uh huh,” responded Alfred as he looked around.

“Is something the matter?” Arthur seemed flustered that Alfred appeared to display a lack of interest. “Um... the weather is fantastic today, isn’t it?” Arthur was keen to get Alfred focused back on him.

“Oh yeah, it is. Real great.”

“They say that it takes eight minutes for the sun’s light to reach Earth... j-just thought that was an interesting fact to share.” Arthur appeared embarrassed and muttered, “why did I say that!?”

Alfred continued to look around and his eyes finally spotted one of the doors along the stone wall. It wasn’t the door that lead to Arthur’s room, it was where that horrid man came in and out from. He always wondered where it lead to but he never bothered to venture through it. An idea popped into his head, a really good idea. What if he told Arthur he wanted to tell him something but explained that he could only tell him in a completely different setting? Somewhere away from the garden? Somewhere new? He could kill two birds with one stone, confess his feelings for Arthur and get to see the world outside his garden and get a good idea where he was in the world and then maybe he could finally meet him face to face.

With a confident grin he turned to face him. “Arthur!”

Arthur flinched after being startled. “Y-Yes?”

“There’s something I want to tell you!”

Upon hearing this Arthur started turning red, and he tried to discreetly compose him himself, bracing himself for the news. “Y-Yes? What would that b-be?”

Alfred stood up and Arthur could only watch him with an eager but nervous gaze. He was actually clutching his hands together quite tightly. “But first I think we need to go somewhere else,” declared Alfred. 

“Oh, um...” Arthur looked around. “Back up in m-my room perhaps? N-no! I-I mean by the hydrangeas or over by the roses? Or-...”

“Outside!”

“We... are outside.”

“No, I mean outside the garden! Outside of here!”

That answer from Alfred made Arthur’s expression drop. “What?”

Alfred pointed at the door. “Let’s go for a walk outside the garden for a change.”

Arthur looked back and forth between him and the door, his face starting to fill with panic. “N-no, not today... I... I can’t today.”

“Why not?” demanded Alfred, staring intensely at him.

“B-because... I got to water the flowers over by Lancelot and Galahad over there.”

“You told me earlier on you watered them all this morning.”

“They... need to be watered twice.”

“But you told me that you only water them once a day so you don’t drown them,” argued Alfred, who could now see that Arthur was obviously making up lies and excuses.

“W-well... I’ve got a lot of work on and... I... what did you want to tell me? You can just tell he here.”

Alfred wasn’t going to take no for an answer and started walking towards the door. “I’m not telling you anything until we go someplace new,” he declared in a gleeful tone.

“W-wait!” Arthur rose up quickly and dashed after him. “Alfred wait, please! Can’t we just take a wander round my garden? I’ve grown some new herbs!”

“Nope,” answered Alfred, getting closer and closer to the door. “We’re going out today to stretch our legs.”

“We can stretch them here!”

“Not enough room.”

“Yes there is!”

“Nope, not enough for my legs.”

“I... I can’t!”

“Oh yes you can,” chuckled Alfred, “you’re coming out with-...”

“I CAN’T!”

Alfred actually stopped after hearing such a loud outburst from Arthur, turning round to face him. Arthur stood there with a face full of shame and fear. He wasn’t looking at him, rather he was staring off in another direction, his small body trembling slightly and he tried hugging himself to stop the shivers.

“What do you mean you can’t?” snorted Alfred, unable to see what the issue was, “just open the... door...”

It was in that moment that it hit him. He had always wondered why Arthur lived in such a strange place, with unclimbable stone walls that towered over him and his garden, with a landlord who treated him like crap and demanded things from him wether he consented to it or not. Why he kicked up such a fuss about Alfred leaving him, his fear of being alone once again. Why he never told him where he lived, why he came up with a hundred excuses as to why he couldn’t leave for a day to visit him. He had always wondered why it was all weird, he just never bothered to pay close attention to all the clues and hints thrown at him, but now it hit him like a brick wall.

This wasn’t Arthur’s home.

This was his prison.

Arthur just stood there, as if he was certain that Alfred was now aware of the truth, unable to look at him as his face went pale and he seemed to shrink in on himself. Alfred could only stare back at him in pure horror, shocked that this whole time he had been visiting this man who was confined to this garden against his will. At first he was angry at himself for not realising this sooner, but who could blame him as this place didn’t exactly look like a normal prison. In the beginning he thought Arthur lived in a beautiful if not odd home but now he understood why he acted the way he did. He couldn’t leave because he wasn’t allowed, he was trapped in here, completely cut off from the outside world. Why didn’t he say anything? Why didn’t he tell him? He now had so many questions but there was on that pushed past them all accompanied by a bubbling rage that began to boil deep inside of him.

“Who?”

Arthur didn’t look at him.

“Who?” repeated Alfred, now walking towards him. “Who’s locked you up here!?”

Arthur still refused to look at him. 

“Is it that creep of man who takes your hair!?” Alfred didn’t realise he was raising his voice. “Is it him? Is he the one who locked you up?”

“I’m not locked up,” replied Arthur in a small voice.

“Then walk out the door!”

“I can’t.”

“Why not!?”

Arthur went silent again. “They won’t let me.”

They? “Who’s they!?” Alfred approached him. “Tell me Arthur!”

Arthur shook his head. “No, I can’t.”

“Why not? Why can’t you tell me!?”

Arthur went silent once again and though he wasn’t looking at him Alfred could see his eyes were starting to fill with tears. Why was he acting like this? Why wasn’t he telling him anything? Was he scared? Did that man threaten him so much that he still terrified him?

“Why didn’t you tell me you were locked up!?” demanded Alfred, feeling upset himself but was still enraged at the whole situation.

“What was I supposed to say!?” snapped Arthur, now looking up and glaring at him. “That this place is nothing more than an over glorified bird cage!? That I’ve been stuck here for five years against my will!? That even if I could leave I can’t!? That I’m trapped here for the rest of my life!? That I’ll never get to go outside ever again!?”

That last part made Alfred silently gasp whilst Arthur continued to glare at him with rivers of tears running down his face. The words still echoed in Alfred’s mind and it horrified him. He had been imprisoned here for the rest of his life? Why? What for? Was there even a reason as to why he was locked away? What was the reason for all this madness? Before he could even ask, Arthur had fallen upon his knees and continued to cry his eyes out. 

“I can’t leave,” he sobbed, “I can never leave.”

It hurt him to see him in such a state and being unable to do something, and words alone were not going to solve this. Alfred walked over to him and knelt down next to him. He wanted to comfort him but at the same time he now wanted to get him out of here. To finally learn that he had been trapped here for five years sounded like a nightmare.

“Tell me where you are,” he pleaded.

“W-what?” Arthur peered up at him.

“Tell me where you are! I’ll come and break you out!” 

A plan started to form in his head. If he could get Arthur to tell him where he was he could mount a rescue, help him escape from his captors and bring him to the Spade Kingdom, keeping him protected and safe. He could do it, he was a King after all and he alone had the strength of a thousand men. He could tear down these walls keeping Arthur trapped and save him from a lifetime of imprisonment. Yeah, it sounded like a fantastic idea.

“Just tell me where you are,” he pleaded again, his voice filled with hope, “I can get you out of here and-...”

“No.”

Alfred’s voice got caught in his own throat at that answer. “No!? What do you mean no!?”

Arthur wipes his eyes. “You can’t come.”

Why? Why wasn’t he telling him? Was he scared Alfred would get captured himself?

“Arthur I can get you out of here! I can protect you, I’ll keep you safe, you can come live with me and I’ll never let you get imprisoned ever again, just tell me where-...”

“I want to,” choked Arthur suddenly, “but I can’t. If circumstances were different I’d tell you in a heartbeat but... I just can’t.”

Alfred was getting impatient. He was angry, horrified and upset about the whole situation and Arthur wasn’t giving him any answers. “Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s not that,” stammered Arthur, “it’s just... I’m...” He went silent for a while until he finally looked up at Alfred with some doubt in his eyes. “If I tell you, promise me you’ll keep it to yourself.”

“What? What are you-...”

“Promise!” Arthur now looked dead serious.

Alfred gulped. Whatever this secret was that Arthur was willing to share with him it must’ve been a huge one, he still looked terrified and his lips trembled.

“Ok, I promise,” replied Alfred, not truly putting his heart into it as he was just keen to get some answers on how to help Arthur.

Arthur sighed deeply and with trembling hands he reached up to his collar, loosening the tie and unbuttoning the first button. “I... I’m-...”

“Alfred, I asked you what time is Ivan arriving tomorrow?”

Alfred’s heart sank when he looked up to see both Francis and Ludwig staring at him from across a dining table. He looked around desperately, hoping to still see if Arthur was around but already knew by now that both him and the garden were gone.

“Alfred?” Francis noticed the sudden change in the Spade King’s attitude.

“If you don’t know I could always ask Yao,” said Ludwig, “I just needed to know because-...”

“NO!”

Without warning Alfred suddenly slammed his fists against the table, his raw strength causing the wooden table to instantly smash into splinters and collapsing in on itself, the food sliding down and the tableware smashing as it hit the floor. Francis almost jumped off his chair to avoid getting his clothes messed up and Ludwig could only stare in shock. The stewards standing nearby silently gasping at their King’s sudden outburst and uncertain if they should approach to clean it up.

Alfred just stood there and stared at the mess he made, not caring about it at all, nor the fact that he just offended both his guests. He was still enraged over learning a horrifying truth about Arthur, the truth about his garden. All this time, the whole time he had been visiting Arthur in his prison, complimenting him on his wonderful home and how lucky he was to live there. Now he learned the truth and it made him feel sick. He was angry at Arthur for not telling him but he was more angry at himself for not realising it sooner. 

“Alfred, what has gotten into you!?” snapped Francis, carefully trending over the ruined table to get to him. “You just ruined a perfect lunch, why did you suddenly throw a tantrum.”

Looking up, Alfred looked back and forth between the other two Kings. His emotions were still unstable and a Illinois things were rushing through his mind. All he could think about was Arthur, trapped in a garden, all alone. It then hit him that when he wasn’t with Arthur he was completely alone and trapped. No one to help him, no one to keep him company. He couldn’t leave him there, he had to get them out of there, he had to find him and free him from that horrible prison.

“I gotta go,” was all that he said.

Without even waiting for Francis to say something he sprinted out of the dining room and towards his office, leaving the two Kings terribly confused.


	22. Chapter 22

Yao could not believe how bad this day was turning into. Everything was going great, the Heart Court were warmly welcomed, they settled in perfectly, they were even in a decent mood and everything was going according to plan, nothing to worry about at all, he was actually starting to relax and not dread the arrival of the Club Court. To hear that Alfred suddenly smashed the dining table he and the two other visiting Kings happened to be dining on at the time nearly made him faint. The moment he found out he apologised to both Kings, who were both not too bothered by it but were still slightly concerned as to why the Spade King has a sudden outburst. Ludwig assumed he was stressed due to the upcoming dinner party and Francis admitted he suspected something else was bothering him.

“Why did he do that?” hissed Yao as he dashed up the stairs towards the King’s office.

Alfred had been in a good mood all morning so why did he randomly destroy a piece of furniture? This morning he was acting like he was on top of the world, completely love struck according to Francis. Yao was still a little skeptical about that as he was certain Alfred hadn’t been seeing anyone, at least anyone he was aware of. He couldn’t risk him having another outburst especially when the King of Clubs arrived. Their relationship with the Club Kingdom was still a little tense and he couldn’t risk Alfred damaging it. One way or another he was going to have a serious conversation with him and get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Approaching the office he let himself in, not even bothering to knock. “Alfred, what the hell has-... what is all this!?”

The office was a mess. Open books and charts littered the floor, the portrait of the world map was covered in arrows, circles and crosses, and Alfred himself was currently flipping through the pages of book. His eyes looked frantic and he had the expression of a madman seeking out something unattainable.

“Alfred!?”

“Not now Yao,” snapped Alfred, tossing the book aside and grabbing another one.

Yao was stunned at Alfred’s attitude but he wasn’t going to listen to him. “Not now!? You destroyed a table, an expensive table I might add, in front of the Diamond and Heart King!”

“I’ll buy another one,” huffed Alfred, his focus darting back between the book in his hand and the chart he had rolled out on his table.

“That’s not the point!” Yao couldn’t believe this. “What possessed you to do that!?”

“Yao, are there any towers or large buildings anywhere in our Kingdom, like near the outskirts or something?”

“Are you listening to me!?”

“If you don’t know then go find out!”

Yao had enough and marched over to Alfred, not caring that he was stamping over charts and ripping them. He ripped the book out of his hands and glared at him intensely. “What has gotten into you? Why are you acting like this? Is it stress? Are you sick? In case you have forgotten you’re the King of Spades and you represent the entire Kingdom and it doesn’t make us look good when you destroy furniture in front of important guests!”

Alfred looked pissed and frantic all at once. “You don’t understand Yao,” he snapped, “I have to find him! I have to get him out!”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“Arthur! I have to find Arthur and get him out of there!”

“Who’s Arthur-... wait, is this that imaginary friend of yours?”

“He’s not imaginary!” Alfred said that so loud it made Yao jump back. “He’s real and he’s trapped and I have to find out where he is so I can get him out!”

Yao couldn’t believe it; Alfred had finally snapped and was delusional. Why did this had to happen right before an important dinner party!? “Alfred, you’re stressed-...”

“I’m not stressed dammit! I just-... are there any private prisons you know of? Weird people who lock up people and steal their hair?”

Yao bit his lip. The young King had completely lost it, there wasn’t an ounce of sanity in his eyes, he was focused on finding this person he clearly made up. He had to do something to get him to calm down or else he’d rip the entire palace apart, he remembered the last time he threw a tantrum and he wrecked an entire floor of the palace.

Before he could say it do anything there was a knock at the door. “Hello?” The door opened and Francis’ head popped in. “My, my, my, what a mess.”

Yao was a little relieved Francis had decided to show up, hoping he could talk sense into Alfred, but when Kiku walked in after him the Spade Jack almost screamed in horror. Alfred had already embarrassed himself in front of the King of Hearts, he didn’t want him to offend the Heart Queen.

“Is everything alright?” asked Kiku, gazing around at the messy office, “Ludwig was concerned after what happened during lunch.”

Just as Yao was about to give an excuse, Alfred suddenly dashed towards Francis. “Francis, does your Kingdom have tall towers or private prisons or estates owned by weird guys who pick people up for no reason!?”

Even Francis was taken aback. “What?”

When Francis didn’t give him the answer he wanted, Alfred turned his attention to Kiku. “Kiku, does your Kingdom have stuff like that!?”

Yao felt like throwing up, how could Alfred ask them these kind of questions? It was like he was trying to convince them he was wanted nothing but trouble. 

Thankfully Kiku was calm and in a gentle voice he asked Alfred, “what is this about, please explain?”

Without warning an explosion of words erupted from Alfred’s mouth and they cane out insanely fast that barely anyone understood him. “I went to the garden during lunch with Francis and Ludwig and I met up with Arthur again and we chatted for a while about stuff and I tried to get him to go outside so I could confess to him but he came up with a million excuses as to why he couldn’t so I tried forcing him to go outside and he told me he couldn’t anyway and I realised he was locked up he didn’t live there at all and I tried asking him again where he was so I could go rescue him but-...”

Kiku planted his hand firmly across Alfred’s mouth, silencing him.

“You went to the garden again, learned that your friend is actually imprisoned, so I assume you are now trying to locate where he could he which is why you asked Francis and myself about private prisons in our Kingdoms... is that correct?”

Alfred nodded furiously and Kiku removed his hand. “I have to find him and get him out! I have to-...”

“Hold it! Hold everything!” Yao stepped in and he now looked absolutely furious. “This is whole thing is over your imaginary friend!?”

“He’s not imaginary Yao,” snapped Alfred, “he’s real and he’s in trouble!”

“Do you expect me to believe that you’ve been disappearing into thin air to go to some strange garden with a strange man? Next thing you know you’ll be telling me he’s the one you’ve fallen for!”

“Um... actually...” Francis tried to get a word in but Yao had reached his boiling point.

“Oh for the love of-... Alfred I’d expect this from a child, but you’re an adult and on top of that, you’re a King!” Yao looked like he was ready to pop a vein. “I don’t have the time nor patience to deal with your fantasy worlds!”

“It’s not a fantasy world, Yao,” argued Alfred, “the garden is real and Arthur is real and I’m going to find him and get him out of there!”

Yao was about to shout back but instead he took a deep breath and calmed himself as best he could. “Alfred, you need to focus on the dinner party, and you need to apologise to your guests. This whole farce is-...”

“Yao, I’m being serious here. I need to find him, I need to-...”

“Alfred! Asking other Kingdoms about private prisons and secret prisoners is not something a King should be asking! Now drop this whole pretend thing right now!”

Alfred grimaced. He was just going round and round with Yao, his stubborn Jack refusing to believe him. “Francis, you believe me right? Tell him!”

Everyone looked over at the Diamond King. “I do believe you Alfred, but I can’t exactly convince him. I believe you with my heart but someone like Yao here needs physical proof.” Francis bore a regrettable smile and no one could really blame him.

“I would appreciate it if you would stop fuelling his fantasies Francis,” sighed Yao.

“It’s not a fantasy!” snapped Alfred. “Kiku, what about you? You believe me right?”

Kiku flinched a little as all eyes were now on him. He looked back and forth between the three of them and appeared apologetic towards the young King. “I’m sorry Alfred but I’m going to have to side with Yao. I just find the whole story unbelievable. You vanishing in front of others without their knowledge into a garden with no one realising is like something out of a fairy tale.”

Alfred felt like he was falling into a swirling hole and he didn’t know how to get out. He felt like he was wasting time, he could be using it to seek out where Arthur was imprisoned. Yao and Kiku didn’t believe him and Francis couldn’t prove anything to back him up. He wanted to convince them all what was happening so he’d have a better chance at finding Arthur and rescuing him but how could he do that when he didn’t have the full support of his court?

“However...” He glanced back up to see Kiku was thinking about something. “There might be a way to prove wether your story is true or false.” The Heart Queen went over to the desk and picked up the phone, dialling a number and waiting for someone to answer. “Hello? Yes, it’s me... I’ve spoken with him actually... he’s very sorry about that... terribly sorry about this but could you send Feliciano down to the Spade King’s office with his sketchbook? ...no, I’m just helping him with something... alright, thank you Ludwig.”

As Kiku places the phone down, Alfred appeared confused. “Why did you ask for your Jack and a sketchbook?”

Kiku smiled calmly. “I should explain whilst we wait for him. In the Heart Kingdom we hold special court cases depending on the situation, and we use Feliciano to carry them out, after Ludwig convinces him. You see his special talent as the Heart Jack is to draw the truth.”

Alfred was still confused but Francis seemed to understand. “Aha, I see what you’re doing.”

“This is a waste of time,” huffed Yao.

“What?” Alfred looked around, “What is he talking about?”

Kiku had to explain further. “Feliciano is a talented artist by himself, but as a Jack he is able to see the truth in a persons heart and bring it to life in one of his drawings. He merely just has to listen to what a person says and peers into their heart to see it. However if the person is lying then the drawing will look very... different.”

“It’s actually very effective,” insisted Francis, “didn’t you use it to solve that case about the missing child a few years back?”

“Yes, and thanks to Feliciano we were able to find the culprit and rescue the child,” continued Kiku. “The father pretended that the child ran away, caused a huge uproar in the Kingdom. Some blamed the mother and others were convinced it was a local huntsman, but when the father told his story to Feliciano, he drew a child trapped in a dark room. After some throughout interrogation from Ludwig the father then admitted he locked his child away in a cabin to spite on his own wife, who was actually cheating on him with the huntsman. Quite the story if I must say.”

Alfred actually recalled that story. He never looked into how the case was solved but was glad the child was found safe. Still, what did any of this had to do with what was happening right now?

“So you’re going to use your Jack to look into his heart to see if he’s telling the truth about this garden?” Yao rolled his eyes. “Seems like a waste of time.”

“Wait? What?” Alfred looked over a Yao with a bewildered look. “He’s going to do what now?”

“It’s nothing to fret about Alfred,” insisted Kiku, patting him on the shoulder. “You see, Feliciano can only draw the truth. He can’t draw fantasies or lies unless he’s not looking into someone’s heart. If he peers into your heart and is able to draw this Arthur of yours then it’ll convince Yao and myself that you’re telling the truth and if he can’t-...”

Kiku then glanced over at Yao, the Spade Jack sighing. “It’s true, the Heart Jack is able to capture the truth so if he does end up drawing this fantasy man of yours... then I’ll believe you.”

It sounded like it was his only option. If Feliciano could truly convince them all by using his unique power then Alfred was willing to give it a try. 

A few minutes passed until at last Feliciano knocked at the door. “Hello? Kiku? Am I at the right place? I got lost a few times back there.”

Kiku opened the door and the feeble Heart Jack stepped in, a sketchbook in his hand along with a case of pencils. He glanced around and seemed intimidated by the state of the office. Kiku suggested they move to another room as Feliciano was quite skittish, so Yao escorted them to a small drawing room that was only down the hall, reminding Alfred to clean up his office after this was all over. Once in the drawing room Kiku invited Alfred to sit down and had Feliciano sit across from him.

“Feliciano, the King here has been meeting a man in a garden without anyone noticing. It’s a bit hard to explain but we’re having a hard time believing him at present so I want you to look into his heart and seek the truth.”

“Oh is that it?” Feliciano seemed glad for some reason. “I thought you were going to make me do something crazy, haha.”

Kiku sighed and patted him upon his head. “You know I’d never make you do anything like that.”

“Ludwig does sometimes,” whined Feliciano.

“So what now?” asked Alfred, curios as to how this whole thing was going to play out.

“You just sit there and let him work his magic,” chuckled Francis.

“It won’t take long,” promised Feliciano as he opened up his sketchbook and plucked a pencil from his case. “Just think about this person of yours, I’ll be able to see him.”

As Feliciano stared at him it was then that Alfred realised he never got a good look at his eyes. He always had them squinted or half closed so it was hard to see them but now he had them fully opened. They were golden brown in colour and in his left eye, right in the middle of his pupil, was the symbol of the Heart Jack. It was almost intimidating to have him stare at him like that but Alfred sat perfectly still and allowed him to get on with his work.

“So who is this man? Is he nice?” Feliciano stared at him as he asked his questions.

“His name is Arthur... Arthur Kirkland,” answered Alfred, “I visit him in his garden. I don’t know exactly how or why I go there, but I see him once a day. He’s quite the personality but he’s nice.”

“You get kidnapped?” Feliciano actually paused and appeared concerned.

“In the beginning it was... kinda like kidnapping, but I like going there now. I go during lunches or meetings but when I’m at the garden, no one notices I’m gone.”

“That’s some story... a little scary for my tastes.”

Alfred couldn’t help but notice how Feliciano shivered in fear and decided to tell him more about the garden in the hopes to settle his nerves. “It’s a really gorgeous place, he grew everything there himself. He has roses and herbs and he’s actually growing-...”

“I like roses,” sighed Feliciano, “I like giving them to Ludwig, he acts a little weird about it though. Anyway I think I got enough from you so let’s see how this comes out.”

Francis, Kiku and Yao stood behind Alfred, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the pencil against the paper and the humming from Feliciano. He’d glance up at Alfred every now and then but then look down at his work. The minutes dragged on and Feliciano continued sketching, leaving Alfred to wonder what he could be drawing. He was hoping that it was indeed Arthur and his garden so he could prove to Yao once and for all he was telling the truth but now he was starting to have doubts. Kiku said Feliciano could not draw fantasies so what if ended up not drawing Arthur? What if Arthur was just a thing in his mind? What if it was all made up? Why was he getting all worked up like this? Maybe it was fear; fear that Arthur didn’t actually exist and that he never get to meet him. He couldn’t bare the thought.

A few minutes passed until at last Feliciano placed his pencil down and stared at his finished drawing. Alfred held his breath as the Heart Jack stared at it, eager to see it himself but at the same time was a little scared as to what he was going to see. He began to fret when he noticed the way Feliciano reacted to his own work, his small body was trembling like mad. In fact he looked absolutely terrified.

“What’s the matter Feliciano?” asked Kiku, slightly concerned with his Jack’s reaction.

“This... this...” He then threw the sketchbook on the table and hid underneath it. “That’s a scary looking man!” he wailed, “you didn’t say anything about a scary man! Waaaaah!”

Feliciano wailed like a baby from under the table, causing Yao to groan and Francis to laugh. Before Kiku could even try to coax him from his hiding spot, Alfred picked up the sketchbook and peered at the drawing, gasping at what he saw.

“This is him!”

The sketch was incredibly realistic and Feliciano had managed to draw Arthur in his garden, capturing a moment where he was tending to his roses. It was almost like a black and white photograph, Alfred felt like he could reach in and pull him out. He had every detail about him captured, from his skinny build to his messy hair, he even bore that cute scowl of his, though to the artist himself it was apparently terrifying. The sketch of Arthur merely stared at him silently, his hands occupied as he plucked away at his rose bush. Behind him was the stone wall of the garden including one of the Elder trees he had been growing, though Feliciano had just drawn a normal tree. It was a gorgeous sketch but it made Alfred feel triumphant as at long last he had proof that Arthur existed.

He jumped up from his seat and showed the other three men. “This is him! This is Arthur and his garden! Now do you believe me!?”

Francis peered at the sketch. “My, you were not kidding about those eyebrows,” he chuckled, “but he is kinda cute.”

Yao could only stare in disbelief. “This is... him?”

“Yes this is him,” declared Alfred with a proud smile, “now do you believe me, Yao?”

Yao still looked a little unconvinced. “I... I don’t think-...”

“That’s him,” said Kiku suddenly. They all looked at Kiku who was staring at the sketch with intense eyes. “That’s the man I saw in my dream.”

Although he was ecstatic about getting more proof about Arthur’s existence, Alfred suddenly became very interested in Kiku’s words. “You dreamed about him? When? Where?”

Kiku frowned as he continued to stare at the sketch. “The one with the little girl and the four open graves,” recalled Kiku, reminding Alfred about the strange dream he had about the strange girl. “She pointed at him and he just stared back at me. I called out to him but he didn’t respond... I remember him appearing... sad, as if he too was grieving over those graves. As I approached him...” Kiku went silent, as if he didn’t want to continue.

“What?” Alfred grew more desperate. “What happened!?”

“He just... vanished... and the dream ended. That’s it.”

“That’s it?” 

“That is all I’m afraid.”

Alfred was slightly disappointed with that answer, hoping that Kiku’s dream could’ve given him answers, shed some light on Arthur’s location. In fact he couldn’t help but notice that Kiku seemed to be holding something back, that he was concealing something.

“So this whole time you’ve been teleporting to some random garden with this weird man and you didn’t even try to convince me!?”

Alfred glanced over to see Yao was standing back up and he was looking somewhere between angry and horrified. “I did tell you, you didn’t believe me!” snapped Alfred.

“Well you... you should’ve tried harder! Dammit Alfred this is dangerous, this is way too dangerous! You’re being randomly taken to a stranger’s garden against your will!? What if this is some sort of trick or worse, a curse!? I’ll have to alert the court, I need to make calls, I have to double, no, triple security!”

Yao was now starting to panic after at last realising that his King’s life was being toyed with by unknown forces, and he didn’t know how to handle it.

“Yao, relax,” pleaded Alfred, “I’ve figured most of it out.”

“Figured what out? Why do you go there? Who sends you there? Is that man? Is that... weird girl you were telling me about!?”

Alfred sighed and took Yao back to his office after Kiku allowed Feliciano to leave, letting Alfred keep the sketch of Arthur. Once back in the office Alfred explained everything as best he could to Yao, showing him all the information he gathered, everything he had learnt in this past month about his strange visits to the garden, the mystery girl, and Arthur himself. He pointed at everything he wanted his Jack to see and told him every crucial detail in the hopes he could see something he couldn’t. Yao said nothing but listened, his eyes scanning every single word upon the whiteboards as if he was uploading it all into his brain like a computer. In the past he just stared at them as if they were scribbles made by a child but now he stared at them with focus, keen to understand what they all meant. Both Francis and Kiku listened in as well, hoping they too could learn something new about the whole thing, keeping silent as Alfred went on and on. He continued to tell Yao everything, including how he learned that Arthur was in fact imprisoned and that he had been stuck there for five years, and now he wanted to get him out.

Once he finished, Yao took a minute to process all of it before he finally said, “but why though?”

“Why?”

“I mean, why you? Why does this... strange girl send you? Who is this girl anyway? What is her goal?”

Alfred sighed. “She doesn’t tell me anything about her, but she did tell me that her goal was to fulfil Arthur’s wish.”

Yao rubbed his brow and groaned. “None of this makes any sense. None of it! A strange girl sends you off to some prison garden to grant someone’s wish!? Why? For what purpose?”

Alfred had been asking that very question for weeks but the only thing he knew was the mystery girl was doing this so he could do what needed to be done, whatever that was. Yao looked like he was about to grow some grey hairs as he rubbed both his temples. He went over to the water fountain and poured himself a glass, gulping it all down in a matter of seconds.

“So you’re still going to this garden? I take it you went during your lunch with the other Kings?” Yao glanced over at Alfred, still bearing a look of stress but a much calmer expression. “And now you want to go on some rescue mission?”

“I have to Yao,” insisted Alfred.

“But why?”

“Because...” replied Alfred, bearing a small smirk, “I’m a hero and the job of the hero is to help those in need!”

Yao slumped where he stood. “That’s it!?” He hated it when Alfred used that excuse.

“I also love him,” declared Alfred proudly.

That answer made Yao blush like crazy and his lips tremble, he even took a clumsy step backwards and clutched onto the side of the desk for support. He was used to Alfred spouting nonsense but this one took him completely off guard. Kiku politely blushed and hid his face under his hands, whilst Francis quietly squealed like a schoolgirl.

“Are you... are you serious!?” stammered Yao, trying to get this all straight as best he could.

“Yes,” replied Alfred as he folded his arms, “I love him and I want to find him and rescue him.”

Yao was speechless, Kiku had to turn to hide his red face and Francis continued to giggle and squeal with delight. Yao could not believe any of this. This whole time Alfred had been disappearing to some fantasy garden and had now foolishly declared his love for some stranger he met in this strange place. He had some suspicion that something weird was going on with Alfred, but he didn’t think that it was all this! He felt angry at both himself and at Alfred, angry that he didn’t believe him in the beginning and angry that Alfred had been treating it like a game. Now he was declaring his love for this... strange person and right in front of the Diamond King and the Heart Queen.

“Alfred... do you even know this person? I mean, you said he was locked up. Is he a criminal? Did he commit a crime or-...”

“No,” insisted Alfred, “I swear Yao, someone had locked him up for no reason.”

“And he told you this?”

Alfred bit his lip, his eyes darting away for a second. “He... doesn’t exactly give me a straight answer. Apparently there are things he doesn’t want to talk about.”

“Well if that isn’t suspicious I don’t know what is,” huffed Yao.

“Yao please,” begged Alfred, planting his hands on his shoulders, “you’re the best Jack I know, probably out of all the Kingdoms... no offence you guys.” Both Kiku and Francis dismissed it as it was almost fact that Yao was indeed the best Jack out of all four. “I need you to believe me and trust me; I really love him. I do. It hurts me to think that with every passing second he’s trapped there and all alone. I want to save him Yao and I want your help. So please? I’m asking you not as your King but as your friend.”

Yao was blushing again and was trying his hardest to keep his cool but after all that he couldn’t. Why did Alfred had to be so blunt? He sighed and rolled his head backwards.

“After the dinner party I will assist you, I will help you, but until then I want you to focus solely on the dinner party.” Yao gently forced Alfred’s hands off his shoulders. “This event is too important right now, but once it’s all finished I swear I’ll help. I also want you to focus on this dinner party! If you want to help this Arthur then rushing into this and throwing accusations at others won’t help him or anybody else. So for now just promise me you’ll keep calm, focused, and place your duty as King first?”

He wanted to argue against him but Alfred knew that Yao was right. With a sigh he agreed with a small nod and a smile. He knew the dinner party was a crucial event for all four Kingdoms and though he was keen to help Arthur, he knew he still had his role to play as King. Although it pained him to acknowledge it, Arthur wasn’t going anywhere. Still Alfred vowed he was going to help him no matter what, he was just glad that his Jack was now supporting him and now believed him about the whole thing. Who knows, maybe with his help he actually had a better chance at finding Arthur.

“Yao I promise I’ll put my whole attention on the dinner party but just to help me relax a little, do you know where he could be? Where in the world would they lock him up? All I know is that he’s in some sort of stone building, like a tower or something.”

Yao sighed as he looked at all the evidence, and unfortunately there wasn’t a great deal of it to make a good assumption. “If it’ll help clear your mind I’ll have a think.” 

The Spade Jack then looked at all the notes, all the open books and charts that laid about, even organising them into neat piles as he went along. He even requested to look at the sketch one more time, hoping he’d see something that Alfred missed. It seemed there was something about the sketch that had him curious but Alfred wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe he recognised the tree in the sketch, though it looked like a normal tree. He checked every single detail with care, deep in thought as he cross-referenced all of the information before him as best he could. Alfred could only hope that Yao would indeed see something that he couldn’t, he may be a pain in the arse but he was good at his job and he had a keen eye for detail.

Then at last Yao said, “so to confirm, he’s locked up in some tower with some... pompous jerk, your words not mine, and he’s growing a garden?”

“Yes,” answered Alfred.

Yao frowned and muttered quietly, “no... he couldn’t...”

“What?” Alfred stepped closer. “What is it?”

Yao frowned. It looked like he knew something but he didn’t want to share it. “Before you even think about accusing him, I want you to know that this is speculation and nothing more.”

“What? Tell me please!”

With a heavy sigh, Yao explained. “Ivan, the King of Clubs, is known for running prisons that has their inmates grow gardens.”

Alfred felt his heart lurch at that idea. 

“That is true actually,” admitted Francis, “he has them work in greenhouses or private gardens. It’s an odd punishment but an effective one, I’m actually planning on introducing something similar in my Kingdom.”

“It’s really a good program,” confessed Kiku, “it’s both rehabilitations the prisoners and provides the Club Kingdom with beautiful flowers.”

Alfred could only listen and try to take it all in. It actually made sense. Ivan had a freakish obsession with flowers, like a really weird and crazy obsession with them. He knew that Ivan had always envied the other Kingdoms for their warmer climates that allowed them to grow beautiful flowers, whilst the Club Kingdom itself was nothing more that a frozen wasteland. There were some places where flowers could grow, but not a lot to please Ivan. He had heard that Ivan had personally invested in gigantic greenhouses all over his Kingdom so he could have all sorts of flowers and exotic plants flourish. He even had one built into his palace, it was supposedly like walking into tropical island. Some of the greenhouses were even open to the public and he was still building more, some of them so they could grow their own crops instead of purchasing them from the other Kingdoms.

He had heard about the prisons in the Club Kingdom too. Where thieves, crooks and common criminals were sent to grow flowers for their King, to pay back their debt to society and better themselves as people. Other criminals like murderers and rapists were sent into the Forest of Eternity, as Ivan stated he wouldn’t dare accept a flower that was cared for by hands stained with blood and terrible sin. Still these prisons sounded more like resorts than actual prisons but Kiku did have a point, as the Club Kingdom had a very high criminal rehabilitation rate out of all the other Kingdoms. He even heard that nobles and lords tried to win his favour by presenting him rare flowers, hoping to please the intimidating King of the Club Kingdom. Some of these nobles even invested in their own gardens, all just to gain the attention of Ivan and win his praise.

Was that where Arthur was? In one of Ivan’s private prisons where he was forced to grow him flowers? Or was it a garden owned by a noble who used Arthur to please the Club King? It made some sort of sense but Alfred recalled that the climate in Arthur’s garden was actually quite mild and nowhere near cold enough to be in the Club Kingdom. Then again he might be in a giant greenhouse? He had heard that some of the greenhouses were big enough to fit an entire town into. Or maybe he was in a slightly warmer part of the Club Kingdom, close to the southern borders. It was like Yao said, all of it was speculation but it was something Alfred could not ignore.

“Alfred listen to me,” snapped Yao, noticing what his King was thinking. “Ivan is... a difficult person, but he doesn’t lock up people for no reason. In fact I’m not sure if he even has this Arthur of yours locked away, but he might know where he could be. Ivan always records where his flowers and plants have come from and who grows them, so he might’ve recorded something about your Arthur... possibly, I can’t say for certain.”

That was actually some good news but Alfred couldn’t ignore the fact that Ivan might be the one who locked Arthur away. He really wanted to question Ivan about all this but Yao was giving him that glare.

“Don’t you even think about accusing him of keeping your Arthur locked up,” hissed Yao, “we already have an unstable relationship with the Club Kingdom, I don’t need you wrecking it any further! I know Ivan rather well so let me ask him, so please promise me you won’t do or say anything stupid? Alright?”

Alfred clenched his fists at the thought that Ivan was laughing behind his back, keeping his beloved Arthur locked away. He really wanted to charge into the Club Kingdom and knock down every prison until he found Arthur, but Yao was right. The relationship between the Club Kingdom and the Spade Kingdom was rocky at best, and it had taken centuries for them to achieve some sort of stable peace. If he messed it up then it’ll be another few hundred centuries before they could fix once more. So for a change he was going to obey Yao and let him handle it.

“Ok I promise,” vowed Alfred.

Yao seemed relieved but he still appeared stressed. “I still can’t wrap my head around this. I don’t understand any of it but I can’t deny it any longer.”

Alfred shrugged. “I’m just glad you believe me now.”

Yao then glanced over at the Diamond King and Heart Queen. “I apologise about all this but could you please refrain from mentioning this to your courts? This is something the Spade Kingdom will handle, we don’t wish to trouble you.”

Francis smirked a little. “Relax, there is nothing more romantic than a hero vowing to rescue his one true love.” The way he said that made everyone cringe.

“As long as it doesn’t start any conflict,” sighed Kiku, “that’s all that matters... along with the hopeful recovery of Alfred’s beloved.” That made everyone, including Alfred, blush.

Once that was all settled Alfred asked if he could go back with Kiku so he could formally apologise to Ludwig for his behaviour, much to Yao’s relief. He also promised to clean up his office once he was done apologising and get that table fixed. Yao said he had to and process this all in his own office as he was still in shock that this was happening, and Francis was quite in a giddy mood after Alfred’s bold declaration. As Alfred walked with the Heart Queen back to his room, he tucked the sketch of Arthur away inside his inner pockets, silently vowing that he was indeed going to find Arthur and bring him back to the Spade Kingdom, where he’d safe and cherished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was going to end with Alfred meeting Ivan but the chapter grew too long, so he’ll be in the next chapter ;)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay

Alfred shivered slightly as a small chill managed to work its way up his back, causing his spine to tingle and he couldn’t help but chatter his teeth. He glanced down at the train tracks as they stretched off into the distance, hoping to see signs of the expected steam engine but so far he saw nothing, not even a pillar of smoke.

“Not long now,” insisted Yao, who stood nearby.

“Is it just me or is it getting chilly all of a sudden?” asked Alfred, rubbing his arms in the hopes the friction would warm him up.

“It’s just you,” sighed Yao, who was actually feeling a little warm, “no one else here is feeling chilly. Just relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

“No you’re not. I understand why but could you please just try to feel at ease. Ivan is someone you needn’t fear-...”

“He doesn’t scare me.”

“Then don’t act like it.”

He rolled his eyes at him and returned his gaze back down the train tracks, hoping to see an oncoming train bringing the members of the Club court. Since the Club Kingdom was so far north and set right smack dab in the middle of a frozen tundra, the best method of travel was by steam engine. There were many train tracks that linked all the Kingdoms to transports passengers and trading goods, and it was a transport system used primarily by the Club Kingdom as it was the only safe way to travel in the frozen lands of the Club Kingdom. It was also the method used by the Club court to travel to the other Kingdoms.

The train station that Alfred and Yao waited in had been throughly cleaned out and repainted, with flowers placed all around until it almost looked like a garden and even smelled like one, it was actually making some of the staff members sniffle a little. A red carpet had been rolled out and the station master was wearing a pressed uniform that looked brand new, the station staff professionally dashing about and getting ready to receive the expected train. Like with the Diamond and the Heart courts, the royal guard was in place and ready to greet their esteemed guest, and spectators were crowding around the station in the hopes to see their visitors from the north. Alfred was wearing an extra layer under his clothes as he was fairly certain that whenever Ivan came he brought the cold with him.

Although he was here to formally greet the King of Clubs as the King of Spades, Alfred still could not help but wonder if Ivan was indeed the one who locked up Arthur. He knew Ivan ran prisons where the inmates were made to tend to gardens, and he couldn’t ignore the fact that Arthur was growing a garden within the confides of his prisons just like the criminals did in the Club Kingdom, it seemed like a huge coincidence. He was certain Arthur was no criminal, he recalled the tale he had told him of his youth and he never mentioned anything of committing a crime or doing anything that was worthy of being called a crime. If Ivan was indeed the one who held Arthur, he wanted to know why and he ultimately wanted Ivan to release him. Still he had no solid proof, only a speculation from his Jack, but he was determined to uncover the truth. All he cared about right now was finding Arthur and freeing him.

“Here it comes,” announced Yao.

Alfred glanced up and saw in the distance a large pillar of smoke rising from the ground, he couldn’t quite see the source of it just yet. Within minutes the sound of a mighty steam engine chugging away began to fill the air, along with the sound of a loud whistle blasting away. The station staff began getting into position, blowing their own whistles and raising their signals, the royal guard getting prepared to greet the visiting King. Soon Alfred was able to see a large and (he hated to admit it) a beautifully crafted steam engine as it slowly made its way into the station. It was made from steel and chrome, gorgeous patterns etched into it and decorated so it looked like horses were pulling it along the tracks. The Club Kingdom’s symbol was proudly displayed upon it, decorated with what looked like finely carved emeralds. The carriages also looked like they were crafted from precious metals and decorated just as beautifully as the engine that pulled them along. Though it was indeed a spectacular sight the whole contraption looked as intimidating as the King who was inside it.

Bracing himself, Alfred watched as the engine began to slow down until it came to a complete halt right before him, a gush of steam blasting out of the engine as it cooled down and causing Alfred’s coat to flap about, even Yao had to cling to his hat. It made Alfred wonder if they did that on purpose. The station staff moved about once again to make certain the engine was safe and in place and Alfred watched as someone hopped out of the engine space and dashed over to the first carriage whilst carrying a velvet step, placing it down before one of the doors before opening it.

“Here he comes,” whispered Alfred sarcastically.

“Be polite and formal,” hissed Yao.

The royal guard began their formation as a tall figure emerged from the carriage. Alfred hated the sensation of his neck straining as he stared up at the taller man but did his best to keep a formal expression as he stared up at those amethyst eyes and that damn smile. The King of Clubs stood before him with a supposedly sincere smile and wickedly innocent eyes, but Alfred knew that Ivan was just a pretender and was concealing what he really was behind that naive expression.

Ivan was a tall man with hair that almost looked like it was made from platinum and eyes the were an unnatural shade of purple. He bore a smile upon his handsome face but it didn’t look at all friendly nor inviting given his personality, at least to Alfred it didn’t. He wore his long coat with the beautiful patterns sewn into it and his trademark long scarf that was apparently his most treasured possession, a gift from his older sister from what Alfred heard. In his Kingdom Ivan was feared and respected, and those who made themselves his enemies would quickly regret it. He had been known to make the strongest men break down in terror and beg for his mercy, making public examples out of them so that those who plotted against him would think otherwise. His personality was a little odd, he came across as a friendly person at first but some of the things he said were either offensive or downright scary. His own relationship with Alfred wasn’t that great as he both figuratively and literally looked down at him, stating that Alfred was too young and recklessly bold to be a King though he wasn’t going to argue with the forces that elected him. He also had the nasty habit of constantly reminding him about the fact his Kingdom lacked a Queen.

The next person to walk off the carriage was a friendly face and was the only person from the Club Kingdom Alfred could trust a little, or at least tolerate. The Queen of Clubs, Elizabeta. She was a fair woman with long brunette locks and green eyes but her beauty was nothing compared to her skills in combat. It was said that before she became the Queen of Clubs she was a member of the royal guard, who moved quickly up the ranks as her skill continued to develop. The Club Kingdom actually had a strict rule that only men could join the royal guard, so she pretended to be a man to enlist. No one knew why, wether it was to prove she can fight just as good as a man or because she wanted more excitement in her life. When she was discovered she was already well respected among her men and the rules changed to allow girls to enlist in her honour. Now as Queen she also held the title as the Captain of the Guard, and boldly accepted any challenger who wanted to take her title. So far no one had managed to take it from her yet. From what Alfred heard she was a relatively friendly lady but was terrifying if you got on her bad side. The perfect fit for a man like Ivan.

The last person to emerge from the carriage was the Club Jack, the renowned Roderich. Dark brown hair with violet eyes and a mole just under his mouth, he was actually what Alfred could only call a very pretty and handsome man but a complete and utter snob. Apparently even Francis tried wooing him at some point until Roderich coldly shot him down from which the Diamond King never recovered from. He even dressed like proper royalty and compared to his King and Queen his fine clothing made him stand out, not a single thread out of place and looked brand new. When he wasn’t carrying out his duty as the Jack, he was off conducting orchestras and writing music, his works adored by many fans across the four Kingdoms. He was a famous pianist in the Club Kingdom and even after becoming the Jack he didn’t want to give up his passion as a musician, continuing to play for Ivan and Elizabeta. His only flaw was that he was rather weak and frail, he was very physically unfit but he made up for all that with his sharp wit and sarcasm. 

These three were just as strange a group as the Heart Court, but just like the Heart Court they ran their Kingdom efficiently and were highly respected, or in Ivan’s case you’d fear him. You had to respect them as they dwelled in a land where it was frozen all year round, and it was the biggest Kingdom out of the four despite that at least 75% of it was uninhabitable. Alfred had never properly visited the Club Kingdom ever since he became King and he knew at some point he was going to have to go, he just wasn’t going to look forward to it.

Alfred approached Ivan and stared up at that bemused smile of his, trying not to glare. “Nice to see you again Ivan,” he said as he reached out his hand.

Ivan merely smiled down at him. “And it’s good to see you too, young Alfred,” he replied as he took Alfred’s hand.

Alfred had to suppress a shiver as a chill ran up his arm, it was like Ivan’s hand was made from pure frozen ice. After shaking Ivan’s hand firmly he tried to discreetly shove his hand into one of his pockets in the hopes it would warm up. “I trust the trip was an uneventful one?”

“It was,” answered Ivan, “except Roderich here got a little faint. He’s still getting used to the change in climate.”

Roderich coughed out of embarrassment whilst Elizabeta couldn’t help but giggle. Yao stepped forward and bowed politely. “We do have some aspirin at the ready in the car along with other refreshments.”

“Ah Yao, it is good to see you,” said Ivan suddenly, “it must be so hard to run this Kingdom with young Alfred here keeping you so busy.”

“We run this Kingdom together Ivan,” said Alfred with a forced laugh, “like we always do.”

“And to do so without a Queen is quite admirable,” chuckled Ivan, “it is most impressive, I do not know what I would do without my Queen.”

Alfred tried to keep himself from snapping at him. It was always like this with Ivan, he just had to find ways to insult whilst at the same time complementing him, which didn’t even feel like complements. It was confusing, but basically Ivan was just picking on him whilst playing the innocent card at the same time. Ivan just stood there with that damn smile of his, pretending to act all sweet and charming but Alfred could see through that accursed facade. He wanted to give him a snappy comeback but Yao had made him promise to be nothing but polite and respectful around the Club King.

After the greetings and handshakes were out of the way, they were escorted to the car that awaited them outside the station. The station was a little distance away from the palace so Alfred was going to have to share a small space with the last person he’d ever wanted to. Still it was amusing to see how Ivan had to crouch down a little inside the car, his hat almost tipping off his head. It was still an odd sight as the car was very spacious but Ivan still took up a lot of room, it almost looked like he was crushing his Queen and Jack.

“I look forward to seeing Erika again,” announced Elizabeta with a smile, “I haven’t seen her in so long.”

“Well I’m not looking forward to seeing that troublesome Jack of hers,” huffed Roderich as he swallowed his pills, “he has such a stick up his-...”

“Language Roderich,” hissed Elizabeta.

“Still I’d rather take up his company than that little pasta eating brat.”

“Oh that’s not nice, Feliciano is a good boy.”

Roderich suddenly groaned at that remark. “I still have trouble believing that.”

“Believing what?” asked Alfred, a little curious.

Roderich began blushing furiously and Elizabeta laughed her head off, so Ivan ended up explaining. “A long time ago, Feliciano actually came to live in my Kingdom before he became the Heart Jack. His skill as a painter caught my eye and he painted me many fine works of art, mostly of gardens and meadows of flowers. At the time he was a child and Roderich here mistook him for a girl.”

Elizabeta laughed harder. “How could anyone not think that!” snapped Roderich, “he wore dresses and had that ridiculously high pitched voice!”

“Until it broke,” snorted Elizabeta.

“He wore dresses?” Now Alfred couldn’t help but smirk, whilst Yao rolled his eyes.

“Not only that but he was a complete and utter glutton! Ate everything he deemed was sufficient enough for his gourmet tongue and complained about starving even when we provided him food that wasn’t up to his ridiculously high standards. I was glad when he had to leave!”

“He used your scarfs as napkins,” giggled Elizabeta.

“And I burned every single one of them.”

As the Club Queen and Jack continued to reminisce about their past with Feliciano, Alfred couldn’t help but stare at Ivan. He hated how he sat there and looked so innocent whilst doing so. It made him wonder if he did indeed had Arthur locked away and he was secretly laughing at Alfred behind his back. He was desperate to know, he wanted nothing more than to learn if Ivan was indeed the culprit who had locked Arthur away.

“Say Ivan,” he said suddenly, “the other day Yao here was telling me about the way you treat your criminals in your Kingdom.”

That made both Elizabeta and Roderich cease their chatter and looked over at Alfred with surprise. Yao glanced over and now had a face full of dread. Ivan didn’t seem too surprised, in fact he looked rather amused. “Have you now? So what do you think?”

Alfred shrugged. “You throw murderers into an inescapable forest and have the lowlife tend to gardens. Seems a little weird.”

“Weird, but effective,” insisted Elizabeta with a confident smile, “those we send to work the gardens are rehabilitated into well adjusted members of society.”

“We estimated that at least 89% of those who finish their jail term never return to a life of crime,” continued Roderich, “repeat offenders are given three strikes before we send them to our more, ahem, effective rehabilitation centres, but those rarely happen.”

“Our scheme has inspired the Diamond Kingdom to do something similar, and the Heart Kingdom is also invested in the idea.” Ivan then titled his head and smiled at Alfred. “Are you thinking about it too? I’d love to give you some tips on how to deal with your Kingdom’s vermin.”

Alfred clenched his fists so hard the knuckles cracked, but he kept his cool and just smiled back. “Sure, why not,” he said through his teeth, “who knows, I’ll probably get over 100% when it comes to rehabilitation.”

Ivan just laughed. “We shall see,” was all he said.

The rest of the journey was just filled with small talk until at last the arrived at the palace, much to Alfred’s relief as he was certain that the temperature dropped whilst he was stuck in there. One royal welcome by the palace guards later and Alfred escorted them to their rooms. As Yao had suggested they were accommodated in a wing where they had access to the best garden the palace had to offer, apart from the Elder tree garden, and the room was decorated with so many flowers it almost made Alfred sneeze like crazy.

Ivan seemed pleased with the arrangements and caressed the petals of some sunflowers that were on display, a rare display of genuine joy upon his face. Elizabeta was admiring some alongside Roderich, the pair of them talking quietly amongst themselves. Alfred wanted to leave them be but he was still eager to learn more about Ivan’s prisons and find out if he knew anything about Arthur.

He ignored Yao as he tried to usher him out and approached Ivan, the Club King still admiring the floral arrangements. “Hey Ivan? I need to ask you something.”

The tall King looked away from the flowers and appeared curious to Alfred’s query. “What is it?”

Alfred tried to think of a polite way to ask, are you imprisoning a man against his will in one of your garden prisons, but he couldn’t really think of one, so he had no choice but to be blunt about it. He knew Tao was going to be pissed and Ivan was going to be offended but Alfred couldn’t take it anymore, he needed answers. “Have you-...” 

Alfred paused when he heard singing.

He spun round and found himself in Arthur’s garden once more, the guest room now gone along with Ivan and his Court. The garden was as vibrant as ever and he could make out the soft notes of Arthur’s song and his heart leapt at the thought of seeing him again. Alfred forgot all about Ivan and ran off in the direction of where the song was coming from.

“Arthur!?”

He looked about frantically until he spotted him kneeling over some tulips, his back to him.

“Arthur? Arthur, I’m back!”

Arthur slowly glanced up as Alfred rapidly approached him, but for some odd reason he didn’t seem at all enthusiastic to see him again. In fact he appeared worn out and a little sickly looking and yet he wore a small smile. 

“Hello Alfred,” he said in an unusually low tone.

Alfred skidded to a halt before him and he couldn’t help but notice something was off. “Arthur? Are you ok? You’re not ill are you?”

Arthur continued smiling and shook his head. “No Alfred, I’m fine,” he insisted, “I’m just checking on Julia and Sandra here, they’re a little weak and need some support.”

“Are you sure? I mean last time... you know...” Alfred fiddled with his fingers, unsure of how to pick up the conversation after their last encounter.

“Oh that?” Arthur chuckled dryly. “It’s alright. I was being silly, I apologise for that. Now then, I have to get back to work. This garden isn’t going to grow itself.”

This was strange. It was more than strange; it was unsettling. Even the way he spoke sounded strange. Alfred knelt down next to him and looked him over, frowning when he noticed his puffy eyes, the dry skin upon his cheeks, that almost dead look in his eyes. It was like looking at another person who had the same face as Arthur.

“Arthur? Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes.” Arthur didn’t look at him as he answered.

“Well then... so tell me who has you locked up here! Who is it? Is it the Club-...”

“Alfred please,” sighed Arthur, “it’s fine now. Don’t worry about that.”

“Don’t... worry?” Alfred was taken aback. “What the hell do you mean by that!? Tell me who has you locked up! Tell me so I can find you and free you.”

“There’s no need for that,” replied Arthur.

“No need!? What are you talking about!?”

Arthur continued to smile and shrugged at him. “It’s just when you showed up, I had the silly little notion to allow myself to feel some sort of hope of ever leaving here.” He clipped one of the tulips and tossed it into a nearby basket. “I only recently realised that was foolish of me; I’m never going to leave here and I’ve accepted that.”

“Wait, what!?” Alfred couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I can’t leave this place Alfred,” continued Arthur, his face still expressing that empty smile and those dead eyes. “I apologise for giving you the impression we can meet up for real, but that is something that is just not going to happen.” 

Alfred was certain his heart stopped beating for a second. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So... you’re just giving up!?”

“Giving up? Don’t be ridiculous Alfred, I’ve just come to terms with my fate.”

“That’s the same thing, you’re just trying to justify it!”

“Please Alfred, you’re overreacting.”

Overreacting? Alfred could barely believe what he was hearing. Why was he acting like this, it was unusual even for him. It was as if he was indeed talking with someone else, a complete stranger

“Arthur, cut this out,” he pleaded, “you’re creeping me out.”

“Could you please use proper words and proper phrases,” replied Arthur.

“You can’t ignore this!”

“I’m not ignoring this Alfred, I’ve just accepted it. Now please let me concentrate.”

Alfred clenched his fists and ground his teeth together. The way Arthur was acting was both irritating and heartbreaking, and he was doing his best not to shout at him. Was this the result of his five years imprisoned in here? He recalled the first time he ever met Arthur; huddled up in front of his fireplace and crying his eyes out. Did he cry everyday before he showed up here? Suffering all by himself with no one to help him, Then when he appeared he filled him with some hope, a belief that he would one day be free of this place, only now Arthur believed it was all just a pretentious delusion he made up and had reverted back to a state devoid of all hope. Alfred couldn’t bare to see him in this state. He wanted to grab him and force him to look at him, he wanted to pick him up and take him away from this place, but more than anything he wanted to hold him tightly and never let go... but he couldn’t.

Without Arthur noticing he reached out and tried to touch him, feeling a surge of bitter emotions flow through him as his fingers just phased through his body as if he wasn’t even there, as if this whole place and Arthur himself was nothing but an illusion, even though in his heart he believed it to be real. He didn’t realise tears were running down his face. When he did Alfred tried in vain to stop them, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes until they hurt, desperately trying to hold in his choked sobs but with each passing second it was getting harder and harder. He hated this. He hated seeing Arthur like this and being unable to help him.

Before he realised it he was bawling his eyes out, crying like he did when he was a child, his loud cries filling the silent void of the garden. He hated this feeling, he hated being unable to do anything and he hated that he had idea what to do to fix any of this. All of his emotions had swollen up inside him until he no longer could hold them in, and he wailed and wailed.

His loud crying obviously caught Arthur’s attention, though he appeared unsympathetic at first. “Alfred, stop crying,” he snapped, “you’re a grown man.”

Alfred ignored him and continued, howling like mad and his tears falling down his face like a waterfall.

“I said stop it,” hissed Arthur, his attention now fully focused on Alfred. “Stop it right now!”

Alfred couldn’t. The stress, the fear, the feeling of failure of a self proclaimed hero who only wanted to save the man he loved had overtaken him.

“Stop it!” Arthur grew even more angry over Alfred’s tears. “Stop it right now! Why are you crying? Why?”

He didn’t realise it due to his own crying but Arthur himself was now on the verge of tears, the sight of Alfred’s pitiful state was setting of his own emotions he had tried to bottle up.

“Stop it right now,” barked Arthur, his voice breaking and his green eyes flooding with tears. “Why the hell are you crying!?”

“Because I failed,” howled Alfred, continuing to cry his heart out, “I wanted to save you! I wanted to take you away from here, but I don’t know how! I don’t know who locked you away! I don’t know where you are! You won’t tell me anything no matter how much I beg, and now you’re like this and it’s all my fault! I failed you! I failed myself! I wanted to be your hero and save you, but I can’t!”

Alfred continued crying and punched the ground with his fist, though he left no mark. Arthur’s lips quivered and he clenched his fists as he tried to keep his emotions under control. “Stop crying,” he said again, his tone a little more softer.

But Alfred couldn’t and his tears continued falling without end. He wasn’t even sure if he could stop them, he was filled with so much grief and despair that he doubted it would ever go away no matter how much he wept.

“Alfred, please stop,” begged Arthur, “it’s... it’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” argued Alfred, “you said it yourself! Me coming here gave you nothing but false hope!”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that. I just... it’s all very complicated-... look, it’s not your fault so please stop.”

“Then tell me where you are,” demanded Alfred suddenly, trying to get himself back under control. “Tell me who locked you away and where I can find you.”

Arthur’s eyes became full of uncertainty and fear, looking away from him without providing the answer Alfred desperately needed.

“Why!?” Alfred wailed again. “Why won’t you tell me? Do you have so little faith in me?”

“It’s not that!” Arthur but his lip and fumbled with his hands. “I just... don’t want you to get hurt. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if I knew you’d be harmed because of me.”

“Who cares if I get hurt!”

“I do!”

Arthur’s voice was so loud it cut through the air like a sword and it actually brought Alfred back to his senses, though his eyes continued to leak tears.

“You don’t think I want to leave this place? Do you think I enjoy being here? I’ve been denied my freedom because of one man’s paranoia, locked away in an over glorified bird cage! I want to go out and meet people, socialise and see the world but I can’t, no matter how much I wish it I can’t! The only thing that kept me sane was tending to this garden, but now I’ve grown sick of it and I despise myself for hating it!” He rubbed his eyes as if he was trying to push his tears back into his sockets. “I want to tell you where I am, I want to tell you why, I want you to take me away from here, but you can’t. If you get hurt at my expense I wouldn’t be able to bear it! Just believe me Alfred, I’m not worth it.”

As Arthur broke down, Alfred felt his heart ache at his rant. As much as he wanted to stand up and hold him, he knew he couldn’t and he hated that he couldn’t, it all made him feel ridiculously helpless. From what Arthur had said, he desperately wanted to tell him everything he needed to know to free him, but couldn’t out of fear of him getting hurt. It even hurt to hear how much that he didn’t even think he was worth saving. To Alfred, Arthur was worth the world and more and he wanted him to know it. He had to redeem himself and to show Arthur how much he was worth it. If he couldn’t do anything for him physically, then at least he could do something for him with his voice. 

Standing back up and putting his glasses back on, Alfred declared, “you are worth it!”

Arthur flinched at the loud voice and stared back at him.

“You’re worth every bruise, scar and drop of blood! I don’t care if I have to go to hell and back and then back again for the he’ll of it, if it means getting you out of here I’d fight every single army in the world. Arthur, you mean so much to me... I mean-... you-...”

Alfred’s heart was thumping like never before. He had fantasied about this moment but in a completely different setting, but if it was the only way to convince Arthur how much he meant to him, then he’d give up his dream confession. He was sweating like mad and he felt a little scared, but seeing Arthur’s face helped boost his confidence. He inhaled a big breath before exhaling it, locking eyes with him before forcing the words out of his burning throat. 

“Arthur... I love you!”

Three simple words but the affect they made proved otherwise. Arthur’s body almost slumped upon hearing this confession, his arms dropping to his sides and his eyes widening with disbelief. His tears had slowed down, almost stopping actually, and his jaw dropped a little whilst his lips trembled. Even his legs, that were stiff as a tree for a brief moment, began to shiver a little and he seemed unable to control his arms, moving them a little before they flopped back to his sides. It was as if it was the first time someone had ever expressed their love to him, and he was completely unaware of how to handle it.

Even Alfred was unsure of what to do. He could only stare back at Arthur with a determined gaze and his cheeks burning a bright shade of red, wondering desperately what to do next. He didn’t know what to say or if he should wait for Arthur to respond, but the only thing he really cared about was if it worked, if it proved to Arthur that someone in the world cherished him above all else. So far his confession seemed to had stunned him completely and the air was filled with the faint sounds of the rustling leaves and the songs of the distant birds.

Arthur did try to speak but all he could manage to say was, “I... I...”

He was trying, even swallowing very hard as he tried to regain control of his vocal cords and he finally opened his mouth to say something.

“KIRKLAND!”

The two men flinched and glanced up to see that horrid man approaching them. “What was with all that shouting!? What’s going on!? What are you up to!?”

Alfred glared at him viciously, knowing full well he couldn’t see or hear him, but wanted to scream and curse at him with all his might.

“Leave him alone!” he snapped.

“Leave who alone?”

Alfred gasped as he looked up to see Ivan’s amethyst eyes staring at him with gentle confusion. He looked around to see Elizabeta and Roderich looking over and the pair of them looked equally confused.

“What?” was all that Alfred could say.

“You said, leave him alone,” replied Ivan, who was more curious than he was offended. “Who were you referring to?”

Alfred gulped. Why did he had to come back at such an awkward moment after another awkward moment? His mind was a complete mess and he couldn’t think of a good enough excuse. He had to say something without the risk of upsetting the Club King but nothing was coming to mind.

“Is something wrong?” asked Ivan, his intimidating gaze starting to get to Alfred. “Who were you asking me to leave alone?”

“He was referring to me,” said Yao suddenly, jumping in to save Alfred from his mistake. “I told him about our chess games we take part in when you visit and how aggressive of a player you can be. He was merely concerned that you were bullying me, even though I insisted you were not.”

Ivan glanced over at Yao and then back at Alfred. Alfred said nothing and could only hope that Ivan would believe it. “You needn’t fret Alfred, I’m only aggressive in combat, not in a friendly game of chess.”

Alfred wanted to sigh with relief but held it in. “Good, good!” He stood up straight and tried to brush it all off as a joke. “Well I hope you settle in nicely! If you need anything just ask the steward, and I hope to see you at dinner! Well, I gotta go, bye!”

He almost ran to the door but before he could even leave Ivan’s side he felt an iron grip grab his arm, keeping him from moving. He looked over his shoulder to see Ivan staring at him, those eyes of his were almost intense.

“Where did you go?”

The colour from Alfred’s face almost drained away. “W-what?”

“You went somewhere whilst asking me that question,” stated Ivan, “where?”

Alfred couldn’t even process what he had just heard, but if he heard right then Ivan noticed he disappeared. How? No one else noticed so how did Ivan notice? He wanted to ask but Yao stepped in once more to save him.

“Apologies King Ivan but Alfred has some duties he needs to attend to urgently.”

Ivan did nothing for a moment but he eventually released Alfred. “Then I hope you can answer my question in the near future,” he said with a smile.

“S-sure,” replied Alfred.

As he and Yao left the Club court to their own devices, he could not help but wonder if he was any closer to figuring out this mystery and if Ivan was the only one who could help him. Still, was Ivan the one who held Arthur? How did Ivan notice him going to the garden? Did Ivan actually know about his visits to the garden and was trying to get it out of him? All he knew was that he was going to have to be careful around the King of Clubs.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - This chapter contains mild gore, violence, gruesome imagery and horror

Alfred stared at his reflection, his toothpaste still running down his chin after spending five minutes brushing his teeth, his gums now sore from the intense treatment. His young blue eyes now looked weary, his cheeks were not so plump as they usually were and his hair was not as neat as it should be, and his skin was not as soft as it used to be. To put it bluntly he looked like a wreck, even more so than usual and it was due to the fact that so much had happened today.

He met with the King of Clubs Ivan, a man he disliked and suspected of imprisoning Arthur.

He tried and failed to discreetly pry information from Ivan regarding his garden prisons.

He broke down in front of Arthur after he feel into a depressed state and cried like a baby.

He actually ended up confessing his feelings to Arthur but before he could get a response he was pulled away from him again.

He almost made a fool of himself in front of Ivan and if it wasn’t for Yao there would have been a much larger mess for him to deal with.

Also on that note, Ivan noticed that he had disappeared whilst they were talking, though he didn’t seem to know where.

So many things and all of them were giving him headaches with all the questions and thoughts that plagued him. His emotions were all mashed up and he had difficulty putting them in order. There were so many things he wanted to think about but he didn’t know which one to think of first. Heck, dinner that night was ridiculously awkward with Ivan, who didn’t ask him about his disappearance but did stare at him with curious eyes. Thankfully Francis engaged him in a conversation and he didn’t get the chance to talk to him. Still that whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth.

He also couldn’t get Arthur out of his mind. His desire to free him from that prison that reduced him to such a depressed state was growing by the second. The only issue was he still didn’t know where he was or who held him. It also just dawned on him that he had pretty much revealed to Arthur that he loved him, though he never got the chance to find out if Arthur felt the same way. Did he like him? Did he have similar feelings towards him? Alfred was keen to know but with all these other thoughts in his mind was distracting him and keeping him unfocused.

With a huff he spat out the remaining toothpaste in his mouth and washed his face with a cloth. He treaded back to his room but instead of flopping onto his bed, he hopped on to his couch and flipped the remote to switch on the TV. Maybe watching an action show would help him get his mind back in order, he did recall one of his favourite action movies was supposed to be on today. If there was one thing that helped him feel better it was action packed movies with the latest cgi graphics. It was like a medicine for him, though a temporary medication, after all there was nothing else he could do at the moment and if there was one thing he learned from all this was that he needed his mind in peak condition.

Flicking through the channels he spotted something that caught his interest for a moment. It was one of those old black and white movies depicting a knight poorly fighting a stop motion dragon effect. Alfred wasn’t too big a fan of the old movies, he couldn’t handle at how cheesy they were. He was about to change the channel when the knight boldly declared,

_“I will defeat you foul beast and rescue my beloved from that wretched prison!”_

The dragon roared at him.

_“You terrible fiend will rue the day you locked my one true love away! After I slay you, I will free her from your cruel prison!”_

Alfred lowered the remote, that line catching his interest and he continued to watch.

The knight continued his poorly coordinated fighting with the obviously fake dragon, the fighting painful to watch, until at last he struck it through the chest with his sword. With a roar the dragon tumbled down into a ravine, leaving the knight victorious. The music changed from a dramatic tone to a heartfelt melody, the knight scrambling up the stairwell of a ruined staircase and burst through a door. There a maiden sat upon a chair and she gasped dramatically when the knight appeared.

 _“Alfonso, you came for me,”_ she cried out.

_“My beloved, I vanquished the beast that held you captive and now I am here to release you from this prison.”_

The maiden ran right into his open arms and they embraced each other tightly, the music selling the scene. Alfred watched transfixed, envying the pair of them. He wrapped his arms round his legs and continued to watch the scene unfold, his eyes completely focused on the happy couple and almost forgot at how ridiculous they sounded.

 _“I almost gave up hope,”_ declared the maiden, _“I dreamed of this day for what felt like an eternity.”_

_“And I would continue fighting for an eternity if it meant I could hold you in my arms,” stated the knight. “I will never let you go, ever again.”_

_“But... am I dreaming? Is all this just an illusion formed from my weakened mind?”_

_“If this but a dream then I pray neither of us will awaken.”_

_“I would gladly sleep forever if it meant I could be with you.”_

_“And I will fight every nightmare if it meant you would sleep soundly, and let you dream a dream that the heavens themselves would envy.”_

And with that the knight pressed his lips against the maiden’s, kissing her passionately and the end credits displaying, declaring they lived happily ever after.

As the music continued to play, Alfred wondered if that’s how it would play out when he eventually rescued Arthur. Would he end up fighting some beast and storming a tower to find Arthur in his garden? Would they end up embracing and declaring their everlasting love for each other, getting their happily ever after ending? He tried to imagine it as he hugged himself and laid down on his couch. How would Arthur’s arms feel wrapped round him? Would he bury his face in his neck or his chest? Would he say something ridiculous cheesy or get angry and demand why he took so long?

He closed his eyes as he tried to envision it, stupid stop motion dragon and all. Wielding a sword and shield, declaring that he was the hero come to rescue his true love from the beast’s hold. Fighting the wretched creature and slaying it once and for all. Running up those stairs, ripping open that door and finding Arthur waiting for him in his garden. Rushing to his side and finally embracing him, vowing he’d never leave his side ever again. It almost brought a smile to his face as he imagined the day he’d finally find Arthur and hold him in his arms, closing his eyes as he tried so very hard to envision it in the hopes it would come true.

——————————

“Alfred! Alfred, you gave to get up!”

Alfred opened his eyes, closing them briefly as the light of the static TV almost blinded him. With a groan he tried sitting up, his arms stiff from laying down on the couch for an unknown amount of time. He rubbed his closed eyes and tried to stretch out his stiff joints, yawning a little as the desire to go back to sleep nearly took over.

“Alfred, come on! You have to hurry.”

Rubbing his eyes once more, he carefully opened them and spotted the mystery girl standing nearby, her bizarre eyes gazing down at him. His mind was still half asleep but the moment he spotted her he woke up completely and sat up.

“You! I-I’ve been meaning to-...”

“Not now Alfred,” interrupted the girl, “you have to hurry!”

She grabbed him by the hands and pulled him off the couch, pulling him towards the door to his room.

“What’s going on?” demanded Alfred, “where are we going?”

She said nothing but pushed open the door and Alfred’s jaw went slack. Instead if the hallway that was supposed to be right outside his room, he found a large barren landscape stretched out before him. Rocky mountains stretched out along the horizon and Alfred could just make out a tall tower in the distance. Turning round he found his bedroom was gone and it was just him and the mystery girl in this strange land.

“Where the hell am I?” asked Alfred, looking around completely lost. “What is this place?”

A loud and distant roar caught his attention, and he looked up to see a towering dragon stomping around the wasteland. It’s claws were as sharp as swords, it’s scales looked tougher than iron, and the fire it breathed was so hot Alfred could feel the heat from where he stood.

“What’s going on!? Why is there a dragon? Where’s my room? Where am I?”

Without a word the girl suddenly pulled a sword and shield from out of nowhere, forcing them into Alfred’s arms. She then flicked her fingers and Alfred found himself in his normal attire with some armour added on. Alfred could only look at himself dumbfounded, completely unsure of what was going on. One moment he was in his room and the next thing he knew he was in some wasteland with a fire breathing dragon.

“Alfred, this is your chance!” The girl caught his attention, her young face filled with determination. “This is what you desired, is it not?” She pointed at the tower the dragon was stomping around. “In that tower is where your beloved is being held! Slay the beast and you can rescue him!”

At first Alfred had no idea what she was talking about but it slowly began to sink in what was going on. “Wait? You mean Arthur is up there?”

“Yes,” answered the girl, “But you have to slay the beast! Go Alfred and rescue your beloved! It is your destiny to be his hero!”

Then she vanished into thin air, leaving Alfred completely alone. He looked at the sword and shield in his hands, both of them looked exquisite and durable. He then looked up at the tower in the distance, his heart racing when he realised that Arthur was up there. If he scaled that tower he could get to Arthur and free him from his imprisonment, take him away from this wretched land and carry him off into the sunset where they’d spend their happily ever after together. The dragon continued to roar and breath fire, slashing its claws through the air and kicking up the rubble with its scaly feet. Any normal man would flee at the sight of it, but not Alfred.

A cocky and determined smile suddenly grew across his face, and he clenched both sword and shield in his hand. This was exactly what he wanted; to be the hero who’d save his true love from the accursed prison that held him. If all he had to do was kill that dragon to get to him, then that was what he was going to do. He could do it. He was a hero, he was going to be Arthur’s hero and he was going to rescue him at long last.

He raised his sword in the air in a heroic fashion and proudly declared, “I’m coming for you Arthur, after I kill this dragon!”

Then he ran towards the dragon, not showing a single shred of fear as he raced towards it, determined to bring it down once and for all. The beast eventually noticed him, roaring with rage and breathing down a storm of fire upon its would be attacker. Alfred raised his shield and it protected him from the intense flame. The dragon roared again in anger when it realised it’s attack failed and began charging towards Alfred, it’s fangs ready to chomp down at him.

But Alfred was not afraid, as a child he had fantasied about battling dragons and slaying monsters. The closest thing he had ever done to slaying dragons were in his video games, but he knew with his brute strength he could easily best this beast once and for all.

“Come at me, you ugly scale head!” he taunted, banging the sword against his shield. “I’m going to beat your ass to the ground and use your horns as decorations!”

The dragon fell for his taunts and charged at him, snapping his jagged fangs at him and swiping those terrible claws across the warm air. Alfred jumped and dodged every attack, raising his shield to defend himself and slashing his sword at the creature every chance he got. The dragon was quick despite its size but Alfred had managed to slice off some scales, exposing the flesh underneath and he drew blood from the cure he made, the blood reeked but it only boosted Alfred’s confidence that he could beat this wretched thing.

It’s rage growing, the dragon roared until the ground underneath Alfred began to tremble and it unleashed a blaze of flames that nearly turned the ground into molten rock. Alfred jumped and ducked whenever he could, determined not to back down, determined to win. The dragon was way bigger than he was and it could easily finish him off if he made one wrong move, but as he stole a glance at the tower that looked above him, knowing full well what his prize was if he succeeded was enough to push him on. He wasn’t going to let it’s size intimidate him, besides being smaller than it was actually an advantage.

The dragon continued its attacks and Alfred waited for the perfect opening, the one chance to slay the beast once and for all. He continued to taunt it, causing it’s anger and rage to grow until it was just making desperate swipes at him in the hopes to at least cut him, but Alfred wasn’t going to let it. It’s blood rained from all the cuts and gashes he had made, one of its claws snapping off from its fingers. Alfred knew he was close to winning. He climbed up a pile of rubble, the dragon towering over him, hissing and snarling at him. It made a lunge at him but Alfred took the opportunity to jump onto the beast, plunging his sword into it’s face, right between those scarlet eyes. The beast howled in agony, waving it’s head about in a vain effort to shake off it’s attacker, but Alfred plunged the sword deeper and deeper into the beast, the blood gushing out of the open wound, the sound of flesh ripping and bones cracking was music to his ears.

He pulled out the sword and stabbed it again and again, each time caused the beast to cry out in pain, each time made the blood spew out until it gushed out like a fountain. The dragon clawed at the air and unleashed flames for no reason until at long last it toppled over, its heavy body smashing against rocks and boulders. Alfred quickly jumped off, rolling onto the ground and watched as the dragon collapsed onto the ground, giving out one final roar of bitter anger before it fell silent and became deathly still.

Alfred stood up, dropping both sword and shield now that their purpose was complete, breathing heavily in order to catch his breath and get his thumping heart back under control. He kept his eyes on the dragon, making sure it wasn’t just playing dead but after a few minutes Alfred believed the beast to be truly defeated, the blood pouring from its wounds already drying up upon the earth.

“I did it,” he proudly declared, jumping up with delight. His attention then turned to the tower, his heart racing when he realised what he had won. “Arthur!” He called out his name as he started dashing up the stairs. “Arthur, I did it! I did it! Arthur!”

He ran all the way up those steps, ignoring the pain of his chest and gut, ignoring how weary his legs had become from the climb. He was so close, so very close to finally being with the one he cherished above all else, a little pain was worth it. He clung to the wall for support and kept climbing and climbing until at last he reached a set of doors.

“Arthur?”

Clasping his hands round the handles, Alfred pulled the doors opened and ran through them. He found himself in Arthur’s garden, all of his flowers blooming beautifully and the sweet birds singing away.

“Arthur?”

He looked up and saw him, his back to him and standing directly in front of an Elder tree. His heart leapt with joy when he spotted him.

“Arthur! I did it! I found you!”

Arthur slowly spun round, his green eyes locking into Alfred’s blue ones. He looked just as breathtaking as Alfred envisioned him, and his heart continued to thump loudly against his chest. Arthur said nothing to him but smiled and opened his arms, waiting for Alfred to come and embrace him.

It was like a dream coming true and Alfred stepped forward, reaching out to Arthur and couldn’t wait to have him in his arms.

“I knew I’d find you eventually.”

However he could not help but notice that despite he was moving towards Arthur, he wasn’t going anywhere. In fact with every step he took, it felt like Arthur was getting further and further away from him. He felt confused as he was clearly moving but the distance between him and Arthur did not change.

“Arthur, what’s happening?”

He called out to him but he did not respond, he just stood there waiting to be embraced. Then Alfred spotted something emerging from the ground from where Arthur stood. It looked like vines or roots made from silver, growing out of the earth and coiling themselves around Arthur’s body, and yet he continued to stand there with his open arms as if he didn’t notice them latching onto his limbs.

“Arthur!”

Alfred watched in horror as the silver vines began pulling Arthur into the ground, his body sinking into the dirt. He tried sprinting towards him but it felt like he was running through water, the ground becoming unstable beneath his feet. Alfred tried to reach him but he was still too far away.

“Arthur! Get away! Arthur!”

He scrambled as best he could, his heart beating with fear as Arthur’s chest was already vanishing into the ground below.

“No, no, no!”

With desperation he made one final leapt towards him, but when he finally reached him Arthur’s head had already submerged into the ground.

“No! Arthur, no!”

Alfred began clawing at the ground, trying to pull it away to find Arthur but it was like trying to dig through stone.

“Where are you!? Arthur!?”

**BANG**

Alfred jumped at the loud noise and spun round, his eyes widening in fear when he spotted the accursed silver door. It’s chains rattled and whatever it was behind continued to pound away, desperate to get out. With trembling legs, Alfred stood up and tried covering his ears as the door continued to make terrible noises.

**BANG. BANG.**

“Shut up!” he shouted, “Shut up, Shut up!”

**BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.**

Shut up! Stop it, stop it, just stop it! Go away!”

The door continued to pound away, the sounds coming from behind it were nightmarish and no matter how hard Alfred tried to cover his ears he could still hear it, as if he was standing right beside it. He squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried to block it from his mind, but nothing was working. He couldn’t even move. He wanted to find Arthur, he wanted to get out of here, he wanted this all to end.

It was then that the noise had stopped and Alfred cautiously opened his eyes and removed his hands from his ears.

He was still in the garden but the silver door was gone and in its place was Francis, Ludwig and Ivan. The three of them were seated at a small 4x4 table, with a vacant seat and a large chess set was laid out before them. They didn’t seem to notice Alfred as they played away at their game, as if they were completely oblivious to their surroundings.

“What the...?”

Alfred approached them, looking at the chess set upon the table. It had four chess set pieces, one with the Diamond insignia, one with the Heart insignia, one with the Club insignia and the last one with the Spade insignia. Alfred wasn’t an expert on chess but he was fairly certain that there were supposed to be two sides, not four.

“Have you come to take part?” asked Francis, moving one of his pawns.

Before Alfred could answer, Ivan cut him off. “He lacks a piece, he can’t play.”

“Maybe he should hurry up and find it then,” suggested Ludwig, using his knight to knock over one of Ivan’s bishops. “It is difficult to play when there is one missing.”

“True,” replied Francis, his eyes focused on the game before him, “it makes it difficult for us.”

Alfred glanced at the Spade pieces, noting that he was indeed missing the Queen piece.

“Did you know that the Queen is the most powerful piece in chess?” said Francis, moving another pawn.

“It’s more powerful than the King,” said Ivan, moving a knight across the board.

“The King is practically powerless compared to the Queen,” said Ludwig, moving a rook into position.

The three Kings continued to play their bizarre game of chess and Alfred could only stand there and watch them. “Do you know where Arthur is?” he asked.

The three Kings then pointed in unison towards the Elder tree, Alfred glancing over to see the Queen chess piece resting against one of its roots. He never noticed it before, or maybe he never had the chance to notice and it was exactly an answer to his question. Forgetting about the game, he walked towards it but before he could get it someone else picked it up.

“You don’t want this.”

Alfred gasped when he saw Gilbert the Joker, juggling the chess piece with a single hand. “Hand it over!” he demanded.

Gilbert laughed. “But you don’t want this. It’s far more powerful than you.” He then stepped back to reveal a large silver chest behind him, opening it up and jumping into it, cackling as he did.

Alfred gave chase and peered into the chest, but saw nothing but a black void. Before he could give a proper investigation, a pair of hands suddenly appeared and yanked him into the chest. He cried out as he fell into the nothingness for what felt like forever, until he fell onto a hard surface. With a grunt he pushed himself up and found himself in a large conservatory filled with rotting plants and decaying flowers.

He rose to his feet and looked around, wondering where he was and where Arthur could be.

“Alfred, where is your Queen?”

Spinning round he found that a table had appeared out of nowhere and upon it sat Kiku, Elizabeta and Erika, the three of them drinking tea and eating tarts.

“We can’t finish this tea party without our missing guest,” declared Elizabeta, biting down on a tart.

“All four Queens need to be present,” stated Erika as she sipped her tea.

“How else are can the four Kingdoms run? They are nothing without us,” said Kiku, his golden eyes unusually dark.

Alfred noticed the vacant chair but it was rusted over and covered in vines. The unused tea set was chipped, the tea cup full of a mouldy beverage and the tart upon the plate was covered in insects and grime.

“Maybe you don’t want the Queen here?” suggested Erika.

“Maybe he’s humiliated because he’s weaker than his Queen?” retorted Elizabeta.

“Yet without a Queen you are nothing anyway,” sneered Kiku, “no matter how much you try to pretend.”

Alfred growled and slammed his hands against the table. “I want to know where Arthur is! Do you know where he is or not?”

The three Queens pointed over towards an empty birdcage that looked like it was ready to collapse. He approached it and peered inside, gagging at the sight of the corpse of a dead bird, its body ruined and covered with crawling insects. He felt sorry for the poor thing but gasped when it twitched and made a vain attempt to flap its wings. He tried to open it but the cage was locked right.

“Where’s the key?” he shouted, glaring over at the Queens who continued with their tea party without a care.

“How should we know,” snorted Elizabeta.

“You’re the one who locked it,” sighed Erika.

“You’re the one who feared it,” chuckled Kiku.

“You’re the one who replaced it,” they all said together.

Alfred was ready to snap at them when another voice entered the fray. “I know where the key is!” He looked over and spotted Peter, the young Joker sitting on a bench and holding a small silver box. “It’s in here,” he declared as he opened it.

Approaching the Joker, Alfred peered into the silver box but saw nothing but the same black void he saw in the silver chest. Before he could ask Peter where the actual key was, the black void reached out and pulled him in.

He now found himself in a large open field, the night sky high above him and full of stars that seemed to be staring straight at him, those beautiful twinkling dots he had always been fascinated with as a child now filling him with dread. He looked about, hoping to find some sort of clue as to where he was or where Arthur could be.

“Alfred.”

A voice called out to him and he spotted Yao sitting cross legged upon a stone, writing down something upon a parchment of paper.

“Yao,” cried out Alfred, dashing over to his side. “Where are we? Have you seen Arthur?”

“Alfred,” repeated Yao, “Why did you hide it? Why did you hide it from the world?”

“Hide what?”

A loud noise caught his attention and he looked over his shoulder to see Roderich playing upon a grand piano.

“Why, he’s asking about the missing piece you silly boy,” snorted Roderich as he ran his fingers across the ivory keys. “You hid it, did you not? You hid it because it would ruin you?”

“I-I didn’t hide anything,” declared Alfred.

“Liar!”

Alfred flinched when a spear was almost shoved in his face, staring into the angry eyes of Basch who wielded it against him. “You were ashamed, so you locked it away!”

“Locked what away?” Alfred stepped back, completely confused with what he was being accused of. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s such a shame that you did,” came another voice.

The voice came from Feliciano, sitting upon a stool as he painted a picture that Alfred couldn’t quite make out. “Pride is such a terrible sin, and you allowed it to swallow you whole, and you committed a crime so great that you are beyond salvation.”

“What crime?” demanded Alfred, “why are you all accusing me of these things that I have not done? What did I lock away? What did I hide? What the hell did I do?”

Feliciano said nothing but pointed at his painting. Alfred looked at it again and was now able to make it out. He saw four open graves, each one containing a silver casket. Then, without warning, one of the silver caskets opened to reveal a dark shape that was darker than the night itself. It was as if the painting had come to life and Alfred could feel himself being pulled into it until he was completely smothered.

Opening his eyes he found himself back in Arthur’s garden but the flowers had rotted away and the sky was a terrible shade of red. He looked around until he saw a lone figure standing before the Elder tree, an axe in his hands and raised, ready to strike at a smaller figure. Alfred spring into action and ran forward, determined to protect that person from the attacker.

“Leave them alone,” he barked.

The attacker stopped with his advance and turned round to face Alfred. The moment Alfred saw his face, he skidded to a halt and gasped at what he saw.

He saw himself, drenched in blood and smiling like a maniac.

“I can’t leave them alone,” declared his doppelgänger, “if I do then he’ll use them against me!”

The doppelgänger then pointed his axe towards the small figure who, much to Alfred’s shock, was a younger version of himself.

“I’m doing this for you, I’m doing this for him, I’m doing this for us!” shouted the doppelgänger, “we are the King of Spades! We are the mightiest of the might, yet he was going to use those five against us! I did what I had to do!”

The child version of himself wept and shook his head. “You murdered them! You murdered them! Why did you murder them? By murdering them, you murdered me!”

Alfred took a step back, his foot brushing against something. He peered down and almost screamed when he saw the four corpses of young children, their blood flooding the ground beneath him. He saw his own clothes were drenched in their blood and in his hands was the very axe that killed them. He threw it from his grip in terror and stumbled backwards.

“I... I didn’t kill anybody!”

“By killing them you doomed the world!”

“By killing them you secured your power!”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” shouted Alfred, his voice echoing across the rotted garden. He fell to his knees and sobbed as the accusations thrown at him grew louder and louder. He shook his head over and over, trying to block it all out. “I didn’t kill anyone,” he choked.

“Of course you didn’t.”

A voice he knew reached him and he looked up to see Arthur, kneeling before him and smiling sadly. “You didn’t do anything wrong Alfred, but we still have to pay the price.”

“Arthur?”

Alfred tried reaching out to him, but Arthur stood up and walked away.

“Arthur!? Wait!”

He scrambled to his feet and tried to chase after him, but Arthur was walking further and further away, vanishing into the darkness of the void. He tried his best to keep up but he ending up tripping over his own feet and fell flat on his face. He pushed himself back up but found himself completely alone in a vast dark space.

“Arthur!”

His voice echoed into the dark and Alfred sobbed, slamming a fist into the ground. What did it mean? What did any of it mean? What did he lock away? What did he hide? Who did he kill? He didn’t know anything. He felt like he had all the answers but he didn’t know what to do with any of it. He just wanted Arthur, all he wanted was to have Arthur in his arms and comfort him, listening to the sound of his voice as he sung him into a peaceful slumber.

“Alfred?”

With weary eyes he looked up and saw the mystery girl staring down at him. She raised her hand and displayed four fingers.

“You only have four left Alfred.”

“Four? Four what?”

“It’s time to get up.”

“What?”

“I said it’s time to get up Alfred!”

Alfred’s eyes snapped open and he found himself staring up at his bedroom ceiling with Yao’s face peering down at him.

“Did you fall asleep on your couch? I warned you what that can do to your back!”

Alfred sat up and looked around, finding that he was back in his room with the morning light peering in through the windows. His TV still displayed a static screen until Yao turned it off, his dark reflection staring back at him. His head was aching and everything from that nightmare he obviously had was still fresh in his mind. He groaned as he forced himself to sit up and tried to get his mind back in order as Yao yapped away.

“I had to tell the other King’s you weren’t feeling well when you never showed up for breakfast, it’s not good manners for the host not to show up and dine with his guests! I’ve arranged for a quick breakfast for you here, so hurry up and get cleaned up!”

With a sigh Alfred tried to stand up but wobbled backwards and fell back onto the couch. His vision was a little blurry and he felt lightheaded as the blood rushed through his head too quickly. Yao groaned angrily and pulled Alfred up, pushing him towards the washroom.

“Alfred please, I would normally let you relax but something urgent has come up and I need you 100% focused!”

“Like what?” moaned Alfred, who was really not in the mood.

Yao but his lip and actually appeared uneasy. “The King of Clubs... Ivan, wants to talk to you in private.”


	25. Chapter 25

Normally Alfred wasn’t afraid when he was requested to have a private talk with someone, but a private talk with Ivan had both piqued his interest and got him a little nervous. The last thing he wanted was to be alone with a man he disliked, but he couldn’t ignore him plus Yao had pleaded with him to hear him out. He was still reeling from the nightmare he had last night he barely touched his breakfast, and from Yao had told him even he wasn’t certain as to what Ivan wanted to talk to him about.

Alfred had a good idea what it was about.

Ivan was the first person to notice that he disappeared when he went to Arthur’s garden, no one else had ever noticed that before. It had to be the reason why Ivan was so keen to talk to him, but Alfred wasn’t certain what to tell him. He didn’t want to tell him about the garden or Arthur just in case he was indeed the one who imprisoned him, but he couldn’t think of an excuse. Heck, Ivan might find a way to use it against him or accuse him for being a poor excuse for a King for continuously allowing it to happen. His mind was still filled with the images from the bizarre dream, most of it taking up his thinking space and no matter what he tried to think of what to say, the memories cane flooding back.

Swiping his hair back and making sure he looked at least a little presentable for the Club King, Alfred entered the area where Ivan was waiting for him. Curiously Ivan had requested to meet him by one of the balconies that over looked the Elder tree garden. It was a rather open space so Alfred doubted the conversation was going to be one of those intense ones in case certain ears were listening in.

He spotted Ivan standing upon one of the balconies, staring off into the garden and not realising Alfred was approaching until he heard his loud footsteps. Glancing over his broad shoulder, he gave Alfred his signature smile and turned to face him.

“Good morning young Alfred,” he said with a small bow, “I hope you are feeling better? Your Jack has informed us you were not feeling your best this morning. I hope that wasn’t because of me?”

Alfred tried to keep his cool. “I just slept funny, that’s all,” he insisted with an attempted smile, “no biggie.”

“That is good,” replied Ivan, “I’d hate to talk to you whilst you are feeling... how do your people say? ...under the weather?”

He tried smiling but Alfred found that even his face was in no mood to form one. “Relax Ivan, it’ll take more than a dodgy sleep to put me out of action. Now then... Yao said you wanted to speak with me?”

“Ah yes.” Ivan brushed his bangs out of his face and then glanced back out at the Elder tree garden. “It is beautiful, is it not?”

Alfred stepped closer to get a better view of the garden, he just wanted to get this over and done with but he remained polite and humoured him. “The gardeners do tend to it rather well, so it should be.”

“I meant the tree.”

Alfred then turned his attention to the actual tree, the silver bark shimmering in the daylight and the blue leaves looked like fairy lights from a Christmas tree as they illuminated the branches. He wanted to agree with Ivan but something about the tree was making him feel uneasy again, even more so than usual.

“I have always envied your Kingdom for having an Elder tree,” confessed Ivan, sighing a little as he placed his hand upon his chest. “They say that no matter the environment, beautiful flowers will always bloom beneath its branches. Even the harshest of deserts to the coldest of tundras, flowers will always bloom where there is an Elder tree.”

He couldn’t help but notice that Ivan’s tone had changed and he actually sounded sincere as he spoke.

“I have researched them ever since I was little you know, trying to figure out where they grow and how to find them. I looked into all the knowledge gathered by the four Kingdoms, learning about the myths and the facts and figuring out which one was which, their history and their origins. I am quite the expert according to the Heart King, as I apparently know more about them than any man. Yet I do not have one growing in my land, no matter how I wish it. In fact this is the only one I’ve ever seen.”

Alfred may dislike Ivan but even he could tell that he was truly being sincere about the subject. He wondered how he’d react if he learnt about the five Arthur had grown in his garden.

“You sure sound like you know a lot about them,” said Alfred, trying to be polite.

“There is one thing I know for certain though,” stated Ivan, peering down at the shorter King. “All Elder trees come from somewhere deep in the Forest of Eternity from their mother tree; the Grand Elder tree. This tree is supposedly older than the world itself, if you can believe that. I had thought about venturing in there to find it...” Ivan then laughed coldly. “...but you know that’s like walking straight into the jaws of death. Not only am I an expert on Elder trees, but I have vast knowledge of that deadly forest.”

“Is that why you send your criminals in there?” asked Alfred.

Ivan chuckled once more. “That forest is no ordinary forest young Alfred. It’s a realm that no man can navigate through, to wander in there is to loose yourself to eternity itself. At least that was what the journal said.”

“The journal?” Alfred could not help but be curious.

“Centuries ago, a King of Clubs found a journal of an legendary explorer, who was last seen entering that very forest. The journal was right outside the forest and the contents of the journal were quite interesting. Giant beasts that were as tall as the trees, voices of spirits that would drive one to the brink of madness, things that the naked eye could not explain, but there was one entry in there that caught my interest.”

“And what was that?”

“A grove full of Elder trees, as far as the eye could see, nothing but silver bark and glowing blue leaves for miles around, and right in the centre of that grove was an Elder tree so large it made the other trees look like mere twigs sticking out of the ground, it was as if it was growing from the very core of the world itself. He described it like he was walking into a dream, that he had at last wandered into the paradise the forest hid from the rest of the world. At least that’s what the journal stated... he started to ramble maddening words towards the end of it, we assumed he committed suicide.”

Alfred grimaced as the tone of the conversation suddenly went dark and Ivan continued to smile. Although it was a very interesting topic, Alfred could not help but wonder was this the reason Ivan wanted to speak with him? He just wanted to talk about Elder trees? Or maybe he wanted a sample from his Elder tree?

“Did you want my permission to take a piece of bark or a leaf or-...”

“Good gracious no,” proclaimed Ivan loudly, his face expression pure horror, “surely you know of the stories about bringing harm to an Elder tree?”

Alfred had almost forgotten about that. They say that even taking the smallest splinter from an Elder tree would bring down a terrible curse upon the one who committed the very act.

“There is an old story of a man who found an Elder tree on a distant island. To prove his discovery, he ripped a leaf off the very tree but by doing so the whole island was swallowed by the sea and he was devoured by the very earth the tree grew from. As much as I would love to take a sample of your Elder tree, I am no fool as to allow myself to get cursed.”

“Oh,” responded Alfred sheepishly.

Ivan sighed once more and gazed at the tree. “I would love for an Elder tree to grow in my land and to admire the flowers that would bloom amongst its roots. Admiring flowers inside a greenhouse can get... dull.”

It was rare but Alfred actually felt sorry for Ivan. He knew about his love of flowers and he knew he came from a land where they barely grew, he just never put them both together. It truly sounded miserable where the only place to see flowers in the Club Kingdom was inside a large greenhouse instead of watching them grow outside. The whole conversation also made him realise that he couldn’t be the one who held Arthur. If Ivan was truly an expert on Elder trees, he would’ve noticed if five of them were growing in one of his prisons.

In a vain effort to try and cheer Ivan up, he thought about mentioning Arthur’s garden to him and his Elder trees. “You know, I met someone who’s grown five of them.”

Ivan glanced down at him. “Pardon?”

“Oh yeah, he’s grown five of them and he’s even given them these fancy names,” continued Alfred with a smile. “What were they? Lancelot, Galahad, Belvedere, Gawain... um... Guinevere... but they’ve grown quite fast for trees.”

He was expecting Ivan to be intrigued but instead he looked a little annoyed. “Are you trying to upset me?”

“Huh?”

Ivan sighed and he actually frowned. “Human hands cannot cultivate Elder trees, no matter their skill as a gardener it is physically impossible. They’re not like other trees so pardon me if I fail to believe your tall tale.”

Was that true? But he saw them in Arthur’s garden, he watched him as he tended to them and grew them. Desperate to prove his claim, he pulled out the picture Feliciano drew of Arthur in his garden, recalling that he had also drew one of the Elder trees in the background.

“I’m not lying, look! Feliciano drew this for me, this guy here grew five Elder trees in his garden. Look, one of them is right there!” He pointed furiously at the tree in the sketch. “If you’re such an expert, you’d recognise it!”

Ivan carefully took the sketch from Alfred’s hands and studied it. “This is definitely Feliciano’s work,” he muttered, squinting his eyes as he stared at it more, “and that tree...”

He went quiet for a moment, rotating the piece of paper in his hands, pulling it closer and then examining it from a distance. A few minutes went by before he returned his attention to Alfred.

“Who is this man?”

Alfred rubbed his own arms. “His name is Arthur... Arthur Kirkland.”

“And... he is the one who grew this tree?”

Alfred nodded. “He grew five of them in his own garden, he’s quite an expert in gardening and he tends to it all by himself.”

Ivan looked back at the sketch and then back at Alfred. He was aware of Feliciano’s ability to draw the truth from one’s mind so he couldn’t deny what he was looking at.

“How did you meet him? In fact, where is this garden?”

Alfred mentally cursed himself when he realised that he had now no other choice but to reveal to Ivan about his strange visits to Arthur and his garden, though he wasn’t sure if he was going to believe it. Ivan was the last person he wanted to tell, but now he didn’t exactly have a good enough reason as to why he couldn’t tell him. With a defeated sigh he told Ivan all that he knew about Arthur’s garden and his strange visits to it. He didn’t tell him about the mystery girl who sent him there or the fact that Arthur was in fact locked up against his will, but did reveal to him that he had no idea where he was and that he was trying to find out his location. He also went on about how beautiful Arthur’s garden was and his strange habit of naming his flowers. He exaggerated at how it put Ivan’s greenhouse gardens to shame, that it was like a slice of heaven.

Ivan listened to him and he appeared intrigued by the tale, especially the parts about the garden. “I had a feeling you were disappearing without anyone noticing... well, I noticed of course.”

“How did you know,” asked Alfred, curious as to Ivan was the only one who realised it.

“Easy,” replied Ivan, “one moment you were acting like a cocky child ready to pick a fight and in the next second you looked like you’ve been crying your eyes out and were stressed. Your whole personality changed, along with your posture and also...” Ivan then blushed for some reason. “You smelt like you came straight out of a garden.”

“I what!?”

“I had been with you all morning and you reeked of that awful cologne. Then all of a sudden you carried the scent of a garden in full bloom. I came to the assumption that you must’ve teleported away right in front of me, using those time powers of yours, how else would you explain your change in mood and the new stench you suddenly got from out of nowhere?”

Alfred had forgotten that Ivan was actually quite the cunning genius and was one you should not lower your guard around. It pissed him off a little that he didn’t figure it out with his power but instead with his own integrity.

“Are the other Kings aware of this?” asked Ivan.

“Francis is aware and the Kiku also knows,” answered Alfred. “I’ve listened to their council and I’m currently investigating this matter.”

“Hmmm.” Ivan thought for a moment. “If I were you, I’d be concerned as to why I would be taken to a garden against my will. Though to be honest, I wouldn’t complain.”

“You’re not the first one to tell me that,” huffed Alfred, “anyway, is that why you wanted to talk to me? About me disappearing right in front of you?”

“No,” chuckled Ivan, pointing towards the Elder tree garden. “I was simply going to request your permission to go into the Elder tree garden. This is the closest I’ve ever been to an Elder tree, and all I desire is to get just a little closer.”

Alfred raised a suspicion brow.

“I assure you I have no intention of ripping off a single leaf from that tree. The last thing I want is to curse myself and your Kingdom.”

Alfred thought that there was no real harm in it, the only real reason the garden was closed off was to keep the Elder tree safe but Ivan was a self proclaimed expert when it came to them. It wasn’t like he was going to pull off a whole branch and then run off with it, as he recalled that Arthur had told him that the bark of an Elder tree became as hard as steel when it matured, thus making it impossible.

“I’ll let Yao know and arrange a time for you to go in,” promised Alfred.

“Excellent,” declared Ivan with a smile. “Well then, I thank you for your time young Alfred.”

He then handed back the sketch of Arthur and left the young King alone, still bearing that innocent smile of his as he walked away. Alfred sighed, glad that the whole thing was over and he gazed at the sketch in his hands, bringing it up to his lips and hoping that he’d be seeing him very soon. He carefully tucked the sketch away and gazed at the Elder tree one last time before departing from the area.

As Alfred headed back to his chambers, Ivan met with Roderich who had been waiting nearby and out of sight.

“That was nice of him,” huffed Roderich as he rearranged his silk scarf, “the last King didn’t want you anywhere near the Elder tree.”

“That was because he actually thought I was going to tear it apart,” laughed Ivan, “Alfred is more compassionate than he ever was, naive but there is some common sense in that brain of his.”

“Shall I inform the Queen?” asked Roderich, “I’m sure she’d love to see the Elder tree up close.”

“Yes, and one other thing.”

Ivan beckoned Roderich to come closer so he could whisper into his ear. “I want you to find any information regarding an Arthur Kirkland.”

—————————————

Lunch was drawing close and Alfred was feeling a bit peckish. His nightmare from last night and the chat he had with Ivan was all he could think about at the moment, and he hoped that a big lunch would take his mind off it all. That and he didn’t exactly eat a whole lot that morning. He was in the middle of finishing off some last minute paperwork regarding the dinner party, planned to start towards the end of the week and although Yao was supposed to be helping him, the Jack was distracted.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” sighed Yao, who was staring out of a nearby window.

Alfred gazed out to see dark clouds on the horizon. “Looks like it’ll be raining for a bit,” he sighed.

“It doesn’t normally rain this time of year,” muttered Yao as he stepped away from the window. “Maybe its just a change in the weather pattern, I don’t know.”

Alfred couldn’t help but smirk. “It’s not like you to be bothered by the weather.”

“True,” admitted Yao, “but something feels... off.” The Spade Jack did appear to be troubled by this. “Anyway, it was considerate of you to allow Ivan to go into the Elder tree garden. He’s been trying to get in there for years.”

“I don’t get why he was never allowed,” pondered Alfred, “I mean, he convinced me he was an expert and it’s not like he’s going to take a piece of it.”

Yao laughed as he poured himself some tea. “He’s not that stupid. Everyone knows that to harm an Elder tree is to ask for your impending doom. I think the reason he was never allowed in was due to simple paranoia.”

Alfred yawned as he leaned back in his chair. “I wonder if I should just open it up to the public? It seems rather dull that a garden is left alone for a whole year with no one to admire it. I mean, isn’t that the point of growing a garden? What do you think Yao?”

He looked up expecting to see his Jack, but he saw a large rose bush instead. Sitting up he looked around and found that he was sitting upon a garden bench, those stone walls still towering over him and the garden they surrounded, and above those was a sky filled with dark clouds. At first he was ecstatic to be back and he stood up to go and find Arthur, but then he recalled what happened during his last visit and it caused him to sit back down, his heart starting to beat fast and his fingers shaking.

“I... told him I loved him,” he muttered to himself.

The last time he was here, he confessed to Arthur his true feelings in an attempt to prove to him that he was loved. He actually left Arthur’s side before he could get a response and now a whole day had passed and he was wondering how he had reacted to the news. Pressing his hand against his chest he could feel his heart beating like mad and tried to settle it. What if he would reject him? What if he would refuse him? Deny his feelings? Call him an idiot? Laugh at him? Alfred was actually terrified to see him again out of fear of these possibilities. He was overreacting but he couldn’t help but think up these outlandish scenarios.

Before he could even think up a plan of action, he heard some distant muttering. “Where did I put the blasted thing?”

Alfred looked up and spotted Arthur on his hands and knees, peering underneath his plants and moving the mulch about. It appeared that he was looking for something. Next to him were a pile of what must have been plastic tarps along with ropes and pegs, and some of Arthur’s plants were already covered by them, possibly to protect them from the oncoming wet weather.

“How in blazes did I lose it?” grumbled Arthur, who had yet to notice Alfred.

Biting his lip, Alfred stood up and slowly approached him. Arthur still had yet to notice him as he was too focused on searching for whatever it was he was looking for. Alfred thought about being casual or maybe acting all cool and in control, or maybe act a little flirty, but nothing was coming to mind and he was already standing behind him, the man still oblivious of his guest. He also couldn’t help but notice how tight those trousers of his clung round his scrawny ass, and even the position he was in caused Alfred to gulp as perverted thoughts danced through his mind.

Shaking his head to rid himself of those lewd ideas and taking a deep breath, he said, “what’s up?” but instead of it coming out deep and sensual as he planned it, it came out high and squeaky.

Arthur jumped up at the voice and spun around, staring up at Alfred and his pale face turning a bright shade of pink. “Al-... Alfred? You’re back?”

Alfred was trying his best to not panic. “Yep,” was all he could manage to say.

“I-I see,” replied Arthur as he stood up. 

“Um... hi?” Alfred felt ridiculous as he gave Arthur a cheap wave.

“High? Yes I suppose it’s... o-oh, you were greeting me,” chuckled Arthur nervously as he scratched his head. “Umm... hello?”

Although Alfred was happy to see him in a much better mood than the one he had last time, he still couldn’t form the words he wanted to say and stood there like a complete idiot. In fact the pair of them just stood there in silence, both of them hoping the other one would say something to get rid of the painful silence. The wind picked up, causing some of the tarps to blow away, but Arthur didn’t seem to notice as he fumbled with his hands and kept blushing like mad every time he locked eyes with Alfred. Something had to be said, it didn’t matter who spoke or what they said, Alfred just wanted this horrid silence to go away.

“I...,” began Alfred, “I was-...”

“My book!” Arthur shrieked. “I-I have to find my book before it rains! It’s got all my notes in it!” He then walked off with a brisk pace, looking around the garden for this book of his. He then stopped and turned to face Alfred, his face still red but he was trying to bear an expression of confidence. “W-Why don’t you wait upstairs? It’s going t-to rain soon, and I can’t have you getting wet.... actually you can’t here can you? Oh, j-just go up there, I-I will join you shortly.”

Before Alfred could even respond, Arthur walked off again and continued to scan his garden for the missing book. Alfred sighed as he didn’t exactly have a choice, noticing some raindrops falling onto the rose petals. He glanced up and could see the clouds were getting darker, along with the sound of distant thunder. He couldn’t feel the rain as it fell and there was actually a small part of him that wanted to stay out and experience walking in the rain without getting wet, but it would be best if he went inside and waited for Arthur. Plus it could give him some time to think up of what to say to him after he was finished looking for his lost item. 

He trudged back to the door that lead to Arthur’s room, up the stairwell and into the room with the fireplace, which was still burning though Alfred could not feel the warmth. He noticed that there were a lot of books spread out across the coffee table, it reminded Alfred of when he had to study for a test. It made him wonder what Arthur was up to.

“Oh not now,” he said to himself, “I have to make up for how I acted out there. I looked like a complete fool!”

Frisking his hair, Alfred paces the room as he tried to think of how to make up for the way he acted. He had to think up of what to say, nothing stupid and nothing offensive, it had to be perfect. 

“Ok... um... Arthur, I’m glad to see you’re doing better than last time... looks like my declaration of love cured your depression, ha, ha! ...no that’s just cheesy. Alright, alright... Arthur, what I said I said it from the heart and I want to know if your heart feels the same-... no that’s waaay too cheesy! Hey Arthur, you like me too right? NO! Dammit.”

How the hell was this so hard? All he had to do was talk to him like he normally did, but now it felt like the hardest thing in the world. He glanced over at the window and gasped when he noticed how heavy the rain had become, and Arthur was still outside. He glanced at the door and wondered if he should go out and check on but just as he was about to leave, Arthur came bursting in and he was completely drenched.

His messy hair was dripping wet and blocking half his face from sight, water running down his face and neck. He shook his head like a dog causing water to spray everywhere, swiping off as much of the water as he could. From the state of his clothes it looked like he jumped into a lake in order to get that wet, and his shoes squelched every time he took a step. Already a large puddle of water was forming at his feet, and he snorted angrily as he pulled the wet hair from his face, slapping his arms against the air. Alfred was trying his best not to laugh as Arthur looked completely different in this state, he no longer looked like a refined man he was used to seeing him as and it was very amusing.

Arthur snarled as he dragged the palm of his hand down his face. “Blasted rain,” he grumbled, kicking off his shoes and hopping as he ripped off his drenched socks.

Alfred was about to say something funny about the situation, but stopped when he noticed that Arthur was pulling off his waistcoat, throwing it to the floor with a wet slap, and was beginning to unbutton his shirt after loosening his tie. His face began to turn red and he wondered why the hell was Arthur about to strip in front of him.

“If I hadn’t misplaced that book I wouldn’t be so-...” Arthur paused when he noticed Alfred staring at him. “ARGH! W-What the hell are you doing here!?” Arthur wrapped his arms round himself and glared at Alfred as his face turned bright red.

“You told me to wait here,” snapped Alfred, trying not to stare at the exposed skin of Arthur’s thin waist.

“I did?” Arthur thought for a moment. “Oh n-now I remember! Ha ha, sorry about that! I was just trying to find my book and you were there and now you’re here, and I almost got naked in front of you... ha... ha...STOP STARING YOU IDIOT!”

Despite being ordered not too, Alfred found he couldn’t obey. The pair of them stared at each other again and the silence came back, neither one of them knowing what to say. Alfred frowned as he couldn’t help but worry that Arthur was going to get sick of he stood there in his wet clothes.

“Shouldn’t you take those off?”

Arthur blushed like mad and shivered as he hugged himself tighter. “W-What!?”

“I-I mean, you’ll catch a cold!”

“Oh? OH! R-right.”

Arthur began shuffling over to his bedroom. He paused and glared at Alfred. “Don’t follow me!” He then bolted to his room, trying not to slip over his wet feet.

Alfred couldn’t help but blush as he smirked after him, remembering how cute Arthur got when he was embarrassed. He did feel cheeky all of a sudden and scooted closer to Arthur’s room.

“What were you looking for anyway?” he called out, peering into the room and secretly hoping he’d see something.

“What are doing? You better not be p-peeping!” Arthur was trying to sound angry but he sounded both nervous and embarrassed.

Alfred glanced around the bedroom and noticed that Arthur’s voice was coming from behind his screen. “I’m not peeping, I promise,” he lied.

“You’re in my room! I can hear you!”

“W-well I can’t talk to you from the other room!” 

“F-fine,” muttered Arthur, the sound of wet clothes being pulled off shortly followed. “Just stay where you are.”

Alfred blushed even more as Arthur’s wet trousers slapped over the screen. “So... w-what were you looking for?”

“My book, notebook to be precise,” replied Arthur from behind the screen. “I last had it in the garden, I’m certain of that and I misplaced it somehow.”

Next came Arthur’s under garments that were thrown over the screen and Alfred was feeling a little hot, pulling his collar back to allow some air in. “You sure you didn’t leave it here?”

“No, I looked,” sighed Arthur, coming up from behind the screen now covered with a large dressing gown. He peered over at Alfred and tighten the gown closer to his body. “I’m... g-going to take a bath, please wait till I’m done.”

“Ok,” replied Alfred sheepishly.

Arthur glanced down at his feet. “And tie up your shoelace, I don’t want you tripping up in here!”

Alfred glanced down at his feet and spotted that one of his shoelaces were indeed undone. He looked up but realised Arthur had used the opportunity to make a dash for his bathroom. With a smirk he bent down to tie up his shoelaces, but as he was about he spotted something on Arthur’s desk. It was an open book, a notebook to be precise.

“I think I found your notebook,” he shouted.

“If you’re talking about the one on the desk, that’s not it,” replied Arthur from the bathroom. “Don’t you dare look at it!”

“I won’t.”

Unfortunately Alfred’s curiosity got the better of him and he scooted closer to have a look. It was appeared to be a journal or something, and Arthur had already written down a full page and a half. Although Alfred knew it was wrong to read someone else’s private thoughts, he couldn’t help but read it and wondered what Arthur had to write about.

“...so that is out of the question. Still there was the old route I used to take and if I recall he rarely has anyone walk through there. A few obstacles to overcome but I think that they won’t even suspect it. There is still that insufferable git I gave to deal with. I’ve noticed he’s been a little more paranoid than usual. His visits are more frequent now and he’s as vile as ever but, thanks to Alfred, I’ve built up a little tolerance around him. I wonder if that’s why his paranoia has gotten out of hand, he keeps looking round the garden expecting to see someone else. Anyway I have little time to think about it, I only have one chance at this and if it means I can finally meet Alfred then I have to take it. It’s not enough that I can speak with him for...”

Most of the words had been scribbled over after that sentence.

“...I just want to meet him. I want to properly respond to his rather bold confession but I only want to do it when we’re face to face, it feels like that is how it should be. So I think if I give it a couple of days I should be able to escape from here before anyone realises. I just have to figure out...”

It cut off there but Alfred felt his heart leap with joy after reading the journal entry. Arthur was planning an escape! At long last he saw the light and was planning on escaping! This was wonderful news, Alfred could barely contain himself. He made a mad dash for the bathroom, ecstatic about what he just read.

“Arthur! Arthur! You’re really going to do it!” 

He ran through the bathroom door where Arthur, currently resting in foamy bath, cried out in shock upon seeing the intruder and submerged his body even further under the bubbles.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re going!?” he shrieked, throwing a loofah at him, though it just phased through Alfred’s body. “Get out!”

Alfred ignored the fact that he was intruding on Arthur whilst he was bathing and was blinded by the news he had just learned. He was so thrilled with Arthur’s resolve to finally escape just so they could meet up that nothing else seemed to matter.

“I read your journal!”

“You READ my journal!?”

“Uh huh, and I-...”

Alfred jerked forward after stepping on his own shoelace he had forgotten to tie and slammed onto the floor with a loud thud. Although he was couldn’t really interact with anything in this place, the impact upon hitting the floor was felt real and so did the pain, and he loudly cursed in pain.

“Hah! That’s what you get for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!” sneered Arthur.

With a groan Alfred rolled over and massaged his aching head, his vision slightly blurred since his glasses had been knocked off, though he could still make out the decorated ceiling. He felt a little dizzy and couldn’t quite get back up, all he felt was pain and he groaned loudly.

“Alfred?”

He heard the sound of water swirling about and wet feet hitting the tiled floor. He then saw Arthur’s face come into view and he stared down at him with concerned eyes.

“Are you alright?”

Alfred squinted at Arthur as he tried to get him into focus. “Y-yeah,” he groaned as he reached around for his glasses. “Didn’t feel a thing.”

Arthur sighed with relief but then began to berate him for what he did. “What the hell where you thinking? You idiot! Who goes charging into a occupied bathroom!? And what the hell were you doing reading my journal!?”

He went on and on about how one shouldn’t invade someone’s privacy like that as Alfred tried to stare at him, noticing something between Arthur’s collarbones. His poor vision made it too hard to make out. It was a shape of some sort and at first Alfred assumed it was a birthmark or something. He finally latched onto his glasses and slapped them back on, his vision now perfectly clear and was able to get a better look at that mark.

What he saw made his eyes widen.

As Arthur continued to rant away at him for being inconsiderate of the privacy of others, Alfred slowly sat up. His eyes were completely focused on that mark between Arthur’s collarbones, etched onto his pale skin. A mark he had only seen in historic books, a mark he had seen upon Kiku, Elizabeta and Erika but in a different style, a mark that had not been see in over a century. He had to blink a few times to be certain that what he saw was not the result of head trauma.

“Alfred, are you listening to me!?” barked Arthur, not realising that his attention was focused elsewhere.

For a moment there was silence between them and Arthur could only stare at him, wondering why he wasn’t doing or saying anything. Alfred could only stare back. Arthur then looked down at himself and gasped when he realised he was completely wet and naked, covering himself up as best he could whilst reaching for the closest towel.

“G-get out, you pervert!” he shouted, his face glowing red as he wrapped up his lower half with a towel.

Alfred snapped out of his trance and quickly jumped back onto his feet.

“Arthur, wait a minute!”

“I said get out!”

“Arthur-...”

“NOW!”

“What’s that mark!?”

Arthur stood very still and peered over his shoulder. “Pardon?”

Alfred pointed at him. “That mark on your body. I saw it. What is it?”

Arthur once again went silent and could only stare at Alfred in shock as his lips quivered. He looked away from him for a second as he tried to think up an excuse, but then he sighed heavily and slowly turned to face Alfred with his half naked body. The mark upon his body was similar in design to Alfred’s and Yao’s, only this one bore more elaborate markings along with design of a Queen’s crown, the Q taking up a good portion of the design.

“There’s no hiding it now I suppose,” sighed Arthur with a defeated smile, “I was going to tell you but... well... I am the Queen of Spades.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m quite busy at the moment but I promise to finish this :)

Alfred could only stare at Arthur with a slacked jaw, the truth still fresh in his mind and although he was looking at it, he still found it hard to believe. Arthur just stood there with the towel clinging round his slim waist and the mark of the Queen of Spades displayed where his neck met his body. It wasn’t fake, Alfred was able to tell despite the fact he had never seen the actual mark upon another person, but it was still unbelievable like it had just jumped out of a fairytale. For over a century the mark of the Queen of Spades had only been seen in books or paintings, but to see it imprinted upon the flesh of another person was considered a fantasy until now.

He could still not believe it, that this whole time Arthur was the Queen of Spades. The person he cherished more than anything was destined to be his Queen. It felt like dream that he was tempted to pinch himself just to check but he couldn’t even think about moving any of his limbs, he was too transfixed on what he was looking at. The Queen of Spades who had been vacant from the throne for a very long time, so long that now people didn’t even seem to care was standing right in front of him. It was a bombshell of shock and Alfred was still recovering from it, unable to speak or even move. 

“I suppose you know now,” sighed Arthur, reaching for a dressing gown and wrapping it round his thin body. “I guess you’re confused? I can understand, it would make anyone feel conflicted but it should also help explain a few things.”

Glancing over at him, Arthur couldn’t help but utter a “tch” sound as he continued to stand there with an open mouth.

“I know it’s a bit shocking but you don’t have to stand there like a twat,” he huffed. 

Alfred had to shake himself out of his shocked state but he was still unable to form words. He was still trying to think of what to say or how to even react to this whole revelation.

“Alfred, say something!”

Arthur was looking annoyed yet anxious as well, as if he was desperate to hear his thoughts about all this.

“This... this is...” 

Alfred was trying but it was still such a momentous reveal. His hands were shivering and he was certain he was sweating.

“This is what? Alfred, you really-...”

“This is WONDERFUL!”

Alfred suddenly broke into a giddy smile and his eyes sparkled as he stared at Arthur with pure uncut joy. He acted like a child who was just given a truckload of presents and sweets, he could barely contain himself. It had suddenly hit him that this was the best news he had ever heard in a long time, it may just be the greatest news he had ever heard in a long time. It was like the universal jackpot and he just won the grand prize. He was bouncing on his heels and shaking his fists in the air like an hyperactive kid.

“Holy crap this is great! This is the best! This is like the holidays times a thousand with infinity fireworks! This is the best thing ever!”

As he jumped about like a lunatic, Arthur could only stare at him bewildered. Clearly this was not the reaction he was expecting.

“W-what’s the matter with you?” Arthur was taking a few steps back. “How is this the best thing ever?”

Alfred then skipped over to Arthur and continued with his joyous bombastic act. “Don’t you see Arthur!? This is incredible! It’s like we’re destined for each other!? Can you imagine how everyone will react when you show up!? The whole kingdom is going to go nuts! There’ll be parties a-and fireworks and enormous feasts, it’ll go on for weeks! And you get to be with me, it’s like fate and stuff! OMG, this is like the best thing ever! I could hug you! Well I can’t right now, but when I get you back to the kingdom I’m going give you the biggest hug ever!”

He went on and on, emptying all the excited words that continued to explode inside him, but Arthur could only stare at him as if he were a madman.

“What the hell are you on about!?” Arthur was terribly confused.

Alfred laughed as he pointed at him. “What do you mean, what am I on about? You’re the Queen of Spades!”

“Yes, we established that but-...”

“So that means you get to be my Queen and you get to live with me and you can-...”

“Your Queen!?” Arthur was now completely lost. “Alfred, what are you talking about?”

He was still excited about the reveal but Alfred was starting to register the confusion that Arthur was emitting. “You know? You get to be my Queen? Because I’m the King?”

Arthur cocked his head, still bearing a confused expression. “You’re the King?”

“Don’t you remember? I told you that when we first met? Though technically that was our second meeting.”

Arthur pondered for a moment, trying to recall it all. “Wait a second... you were being serious!?”

“Of course I was,” declared Alfred, “wait, you didn’t believe me?”

“When a stranger suddenly appears in your home uninvited, would you believe anything they say!? I thought you were just trying to make a fool of me!”

“W-well I’m not!” Alfred then grasped his own shirt and waistcoat, ripping them apart to expose his chest. “Take a look! Here’s your proof!”

“ARGH! What are you doing!?” Arthur hid his blushing face from sight as Alfred exposed his chest to display the mark of the King of Spades.

“No, no, look!” Alfred stepped closer, not realising how the act was making the other man extremely bashful. “See, I’m the King of Spades!”

Arthur did nothing at first but he eventually peep out between his fingers, his eyes looking at Alfred’s exposed chest. He blinked a couple of times before he slowly lowered his hands and stared at the mark upon the bare tanned skin before him. Looking back and forth between his face and his chest, Arthur appeared to be in shock and disbelief. He did take a step closer and examined the mark, as if he was trying to confirm that what he was looking at was indeed the real thing.

“That’s... that’s the mark of the King of Spades,” he finally admitted, his voice sounding a little dry.

“You see,” exclaimed Alfred as he buttoned up his shirt as quickly as he pulled it apart, “I’m the King of Spades and you’re my Queen! Isn’t this fantastic? Isn’t this, like, the best thing ever!?”

Arthur didn’t seem to share Alfred’s enthusiasm. “You... are the King of Spades...?”

“Yes,” replied Alfred ecstatically, “don’t you see Arthur? This means we’re meant to be! That we can be together! Isn’t that great? Isn’t it?”

As Alfred continued to excitedly rant away about their destined future together, he was starting to realise that Arthur didn’t at all look thrilled about it. He was half expecting him to jump for joy and be happy that his King was someone he cared for. Instead he stood there with a look of disbelief and confusion, as if he was trying to piece everything together in his head but was doing a poor job of it. Alfred ceased his giddy chatter and stared back at him, still unable to stop grinning with explosive joy.

“Arthur? Aren’t you happy about this? We get to be together, you and I.”

Arthur finally spoke but what he said was not what Alfred was expecting. “You... can’t be the King.”

Alfred blinked. “Yes I am. Didn’t you see my mark?” He reached for his shirt and waistcoat again but Arthur stopped him.

“I saw it, I saw it!” Arthur wiped his brow as he was getting flustered. “This... this doesn’t make any sense!? How can you be the King!?”

“Hey, I’ve been a King for over half a year,” retorted Alfred, “I mean I can understand you not knowing since you’ve been cooped up in here but-... wait... Arthur, if you’re the Queen, then why are you locked up here?”

Arthur now look completely confused. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know who it is, but keeping you a prisoner and away from your duty as a Queen is a serious offence,” declared Alfred, planting his hands on his hips. “As the King it is my duty to liberate you from this prison.”

This news should be lifting Arthur’s spirits into orbit but he just stood there bearing the same expression he had for the past five minutes. “You’re not making sense!”

Alfred was getting a little frustrated with Arthur’s lack of enthusiasm and understanding. What was so hard to understand about all of this? “What do you mean I’m not making sense? Arthur, I can rescue you! I can get you out of here and the other Kingdoms will back me when the hear about this! Francis, Ludwig and even Ivan will aid me so you don’t have to fear your captor anymore.”

“Francis? Ludwig? Ivan? Who the hell are they?”

“The other Kings!”

“What?”

“I told you about Francis didn’t I? He’s the King of Diamonds. You must’ve heard of him, he’s been King for ten years!”

Arthur looked away and tried to think. “This... this makes no sense!”

Alfred had no idea how long he had left and tried to get Arthur’s attention so he could finally learn of his location, thus saving him from his wrongful imprisonment.

“Arthur please tell me where you are! I can rescue you! I can bring you to the Kingdom of Spades and we can live together always! You’ll be safe and I can protect you! So please, tell me where you-...”

“This makes no sense! THIS MAKES NO SENSE!”

Arthur shouted at the top of his lungs, clasping his hands round his head and bolted from Alfred’s side.

“Arthur, wait!” Alfred tried to reach out for him but his hand couldn’t take hold of him.

A million things were going through his mind, and right now the only question that was ringing in his mind was; why was Arthur acting this way? Shouldn’t he be happy that Alfred was his King? That Alfred could finally free him? Why was all this news confusing him? Alfred didn’t have time to ponder on these things and tried to follow Arthur before he returned to the palace. He had to get his location. He had to find him and take him away from this horrible place. Bring him to the palace and spend the rest of their lives together, like it was meant to, like it was destined to be.

Just as he was about to give chase, he suddenly found himself sitting back down at his desk once more, his hand still reaching out but this time it was towards Yao. The Jack had not notice any change as he continued to drink his tea, sighing gently after each sip.

Alfred lowered his hand, clutching the arms of his chair as he tried to calm himself down. His heart was still beating, his mind still exploding and his breathing was speeding up with every passing second. He should be angry that he had come back so soon before getting the information he needed, but the excitement he had when he first learned of Arthur’s identity as the Queen of Spades was still very much present.

“Yao!” 

He used such a loud voice that it was enough to make Yao screech and drop his tea.

“Y-you don’t have to shout,” snapped the startled Jack, placing a hand upon his chest. “I’m standing right-...”

Before he could finish Alfred was already hopping over his desk and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Yao, you’re not going to believe this! This is huge! It’s going to be in the history books! It’s the most amazing thing ever!” Alfred was so excited he was shaking Yao like a rag doll.

“Alfred! You’re going to break my neck! Stop it!”

Alfred stopped but he was now bouncing on his feet, his whole face lit up like a kid high on sugar during the holidays. “This is the best thing Yao! I guarantee you’re going to faint from shock! It’s wonderful, stupendous, fantastic and amazing all mixed into one!”

Yao cringed as Alfred’s loud voice was causing his ears to ring. “Alright, alright,” he snapped, “What is it? What’s gotten you so hyper?”

Before Alfred said anything he dashed to the door. “Wait, wait, wait! I gotta get Francis! I gotta get Kiku! I gotta tell them! I gotta tell all of them!” Yao could only watch in bewilderment as the King ran through the hallways like a madman, until Alfred ran back and demanded, “you stay there,” before running off again.

Alfred dashed through the palace, skidding down halls and jumping over obstacles such as servants and furniture, running into the Diamond Court’s room where Francis was playing a game of chess with Erika.

“Oh Alfred?” Francis was obviously surprised to see him in such a state. “Is something the matter?”

Alfred said nothing and grabbed Francis by the arm, dragging him out of the room. “Sorry, I gotta borrow your King! I’ll bring him back!”

“Alfred! You’re going to rip my arm!” wailed Francis, desperately trying to keep up with the younger King’s frantic pace. “More importantly, you’re going to rip my coat! This is a limited edition coat!”

Alfred then ran to the gardens where the Heart Court were currently engaging in their daily physical activity, Ludwig barking out commands to both Feliciano and Kiku, the pair of them obeying every order to complete the exercise. Alfred sprinted after them with ease, poor Francis squealing as he was pulled along, and scooped up the oblivious Kiku, tossing him over his shoulder.

“What the!?” Kiku clung to Alfred desperately as he was carried away with Ludwig and Feliciano looking on in shock. “Alfred!? Please put me down!”

“I just need to borrow him! I’ll bring him back soon!” Ludwig didn’t even get the chance to ask why as Alfred had vanished along with his Queen, and Feliciano was secretly wishing that he too would be whisked away to get away from his training.

Dashing back to his office with Kiku over his shoulder who was clinging to him with dear life whilst dragging Francis along until he was practically flying off the floor, Alfred could not even care of how foolish he was acting before the other courts. He didn’t even care as he rushed by both Ivan and Elizabeta, the Club King and Queen looking on in utter bewilderment at the sight. Alfred needed to share the news with the people he trusted the most and Yao, Francis and Kiku were the first he thought of.

He burst back into his office where Yao was waiting, the Spade Jack appearing horrified at the sight of how his King was handling two very important guests. As Alfred released his powerful grip upon the other men and rushed to shut the doors, Francis fell to his knees as he tried to catch his breath, his hair was a mess and his clothes had stretched a little much to his woe. Kiku was now back on his feet but his legs were trembling as he was trying to calm himself down and he was a little disoriented, clutching onto the arm of a chair for support as he tried to get his bearings back.

“Alfred, what the hell is wrong with you!?” Francis barely managed to get the whole sentence out as he was still catching his breath. “I look like a farm boy wearing hand-me-downs!”

“A little warning would’ve been very much appreciated,” whimpered Kiku as he fell into the chair to calm himself. “Please inform me when the room stops spinning.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” insisted Alfred, though he spoke as if he didn’t mean a single word he said. “It’s just that this is really big, like really super big!”

“That doesn’t mean you can drag other members of royalty around the palace like toys,” snapped Yao, who was fretting that this little act would ruin the relationship between the Diamond and Heart Kingdoms. “Whatever this news is, it doesn’t give you the right to treat your guests like-...”

“But Yao, this is really big!”

“That is no excuse!”

“I know, but listen-...”

“Not until you get it through that thick head of yours that-...”

“I found the Queen!”

There was a sudden silence and Yao slowly phased out of his angry expression to a puzzled one. Even Francis paused in correcting himself and Kiku managed to focus on the young King. At first both Yao and Francis looked over at Kiku, the Heart Queen appearing awkward as two sets of eyes locked on him. Yao glanced back at Alfred, still confused, and raised an unsure finger that pointed at Kiku.

“You mean... him?”

“No, no, no,” muttered Alfred, wiping the hair off his brow. “I’m talking about our Queen!”

Yao once again failed to understand. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s Arthur!”

“Arthur?”

“Yes!”

“What about him?”

Alfred groaned and grabbed Yao by the shoulders. “Arthur is the Queen! He’s the Queen of Spades!”

The silence returned and Yao could only stare back at Alfred as if he told him a far fetched story. Alfred could only stare back at him with an enthusiastic grin, wondering why his Jack wasn’t so excited about the news. Francis managed to get back on his feet, however his attention was still focused on his clothes. In fact Kiku seemed to be the only one who appeared generally interested in the news, or he was still trying to settle himself down after being carried through the palace.

“Aren’t you thrilled?” asked Alfred, trying to understand why none of the three men shared his enthusiasm.

Yao said nothing for a moment, averting his gaze as if he was trying to think of what to say. “Um... Alfred, are you sure you weren’t seeing things?”

“No!” Alfred stomped a single foot upon the ground out of frustration.

He then ran to the bookshelf and pulled down random books until he found the one he was looking for. He opened the page that displayed the marks of the Spade Court, rushing back over to Yao and pointed at the mark of the Spade Queen, practically shoving it in his face.

“I saw this on Arthur’s body! This one right here! The mark of the Spade Queen!”

Yao glanced back at the book and then at Alfred. “Are you certain?” he asked in an unconvinced tone. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” snapped Alfred. “I was going to speak to Arthur and then I tripped over-...”

“On your head?”

“I’m fine,” insisted Alfred, “anyway he came over to check on me after getting out the bath-...”

“He was naked?” Francis suddenly appeared intrigued.

“That’s not the point! I-I mean it is because that’s how I saw the mark, and he even confessed to me!”

“Confessed?” repeated Kiku, tilting his head in confusion.

“He told me he was the Queen of Spades! Look, I saw the mark upon his body and I knew it wasn’t fake. It was like when I saw yours Yao, I instantly knew you were my Jack. It was like that when I saw the mark on Arthur’s body; I just... felt like that he is my Queen! It must be the reason I’m going to that place, it must’ve been my destiny to find the Queen of Spades and I found him!”

Alfred continued to ecstatically go on and on about destiny and fate regarding Arthur and himself, about how Arthur was meant to be his Queen and they were meant to rule together. Yao had slowly transitioned from a confused state and had now gone into an uneasy deep thinking form. Francis, who Alfred had assumed would be excited for him, was now bearing a serious pondering expression. Even Kiku looked unnaturally alarmed about all this. Alfred eventually trailed off his excited chatter and looked at them, trying to understand why they were like this. Shouldn’t they be thrilled that the long lost Queen of Spades had been found? Shouldn’t this be a joyous occasion?

“Alfred,” said Yao at long last, “are you sure you saw this mark on Arthur’s body? And he told you himself that he was the Queen?”

“Yes,” confirmed Alfred, “he wasn’t lying, and like I said; the mark was genuine-...”

“Why was he hiding it from you?” asked Francis.

“Huh?” Alfred looked over at the Diamond King.

“He only just told you after you saw his mark? He never thought about revealing it to you before?”

Alfred was about to answer but realised he didn’t have a response for him. In fact he now too wondered why Arthur kept it hidden from him, even if he didn’t realise that Alfred was the Spade King. Why wouldn’t Arthur reveal his identity as the Spade Queen to him? If he was held captive in some secret prison, surely he would’ve told Alfred who he was in the hope it would aid in his escape. In fact Arthur didn’t even tell him he was imprisoned until he figured it out. Why was he only just thinking about all this? Why was Arthur keeping so many secrets from him?

“Did he know you were the King?” asked Kiku, raising his hand as he spoke.

“He-... actually didn’t realise until I showed him my mark. I mean, I did tell him when we first met but he didn’t believe me at the time, he thought I was a deranged madman when I told him I was the Spade King.”

“And how did he react when you revealed to him who you were?”

Alfred recalled the fresh memory in his head. “He... didn’t take it very well. In fact he was... really confused.” A few nasty thoughts crept into his mind but he shook them away and tried to focus on the positive. “But guys, I found the Queen! The Spade Kingdom is going to get its Queen back! Aren’t you excited?”

Yao had walked backwards and fell into a chair, his hands clasped together with his lips resting upon his fingers. It was as if the whole realisation had just hit him, and he was unsure of how to handle it. Even one of his legs seemed to be a little jittery as he tried to calm it down. 

Francis still bore a serious look but he was slowly showing some enthusiasm, though he was keeping it under control. “The long lost Queen of Spades has finally made an appearance,” he muttered, slowly pacing back and forth. “Yet how and why has he been kept hidden from the rest of the world for over a century?”

“Alfred,” said Kiku as he rose from his chair, “Are you certain of what you saw?”

“Yes,” declared Alfred, still annoyed st everyone’s lack of enthusiasm, “I saw it as plain as day. You get Feliciano and get him to do that drawing trick again.”

“No, no, we believe you... it’s just that...” He trailed off as he tried to think of an appropriate response. “As Francis stated; how has the Spade Queen been hidden for so long? If this Arthur has been imprisoned in secrecy, why has he? Who locked him away, and is it because of his identity as Queen?”

“And if his captor has imprisoned him because of his identity as the Queen of Spades, how did they locate him before anyone else realised who he was? Have they done this to the previous Queens? If so then for what reason?” Francis was seriously thinking hard about all this, along with Kiku. “I don’t doubt your story Alfred, but I think you’re missing the big picture. For over a century someone somehow has been keeping the Queen of Spades from their duty, and we don’t know how or why.”

It didn’t kill off his eagerness about the identity of the Spade Queen, but it did make Alfred realise that they were right. Yes, discovering who the Spade Queen is was exciting news but learning that they were currently imprisoned by some unknown force was worrying news indeed. Who was it that locked away the Spade Queen? How did they locate the Spade Queen before anyone else did? Was Arthur’s garden actually an elaborate prison for the Spade Queens before him? Who was doing all this and why?

“Well I can say this,” said Yao suddenly, “we can rule Ivan out of this.”

“How come?” demanded Alfred, who was still a little suspicious of the Club King.

“I agree with Yao actually,” said Kiku, “Ivan may be a... difficult person to deal with sometimes, but not even he would imprison a member of one of the four courts, even someone from the Spade Court.”

“That still doesn’t tell us who has done all this, and for what reason,” sighed Francis.

Although Alfred was sort of glad that they believed him, he still didn’t fully understand why they were now so uneasy about this. The Spade Queen had been found, now all they had to do was rescue him and return him to the Kingdom of Spades, returning the Spade Court to normal at long last.

Yao noticed the young King’s troubled gaze and stood up to approach him. “Alfred believe me, I am just as thrilled as you are that the Spade Queen has finally been located. However what Francis said is true; someone or something has somehow kept the Queen from their royal duty for over a hundred years. I don’t know if this is all some strange coincidence that you have been going to this garden to meet this Arthur fellow, maybe it’s like you said; destiny or fate. I am truly ecstatic that the Queen has been found but right now our main concern should be at whoever has been doing this.”

Alfred bit his lip, understanding that what his Jack was saying was true. He wanted nothing more but to find and rescue Arthur, even if he wasn’t the Queen, but Yao was right. They were dealing with an unknown force that had somehow kept the Queen of Spades hidden from the rest of the world and if they were able to to do it to the Spade Queen then they might be able to do it with the other courts, and that seemed to be the main reason why Francis and Kiku were more alarmed than happy for Alfred; they were scared that the same thing could happen to their courts.

“I think,” announced Francis suddenly, “that we should hold a Gathering.”

Francis’ suggestion was surprising. A Gathering was basically a high profile meeting between the members of the four courts and was usually used to settle troubling issues between the Kingdoms or to discuss on something that was threatening the peace within their realms. A Gathering has not been held for at least a few decades and whenever one was announced it meant something big was up. Alfred had never dreamed about hosting one.

“I... have to agree with Francis.” Yao looked up at Alfred with a serious gaze and spoke in a professional tone of voice whilst addressing him. “Your majesty, if what you say is true than someone has imprisoned a key member of the Spade Court for over a hundred years. In order to restore our court, and to keep the other courts from a similar fate, I recommend that we hold a Gathering immediately.”

Alfred gulped silently. This whole thing was becoming serious and now Yao wanted to alert the other courts about it. He should be glad because if the other courts knew than they’d be able to help locate Arthur more quickly, but Alfred was feeling a heavy sensation in his gut because it was now dawning on him on how serious this whole thing was. As much as he wanted to find Arthur he also realised that something was keeping him locked away and hidden from the rest of the world, and whatever this force was that kept Arthur locked up it was not something he should take light of. This wasn’t some dragon he could slay, nor an army he could take down, this was something beyond his comprehension and if he wanted to hold Arthur in his arms at long last, then he was going to need the cooperation of all four courts in order to do so.

Straightening himself out, Alfred faced his Jack. “Arrange a Gathering at once.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m working on this as best I can but I’m currently on a course, not giving up on it, your comments inspire me to continue :)
> 
> WARNING: This chapter contains mild violence, mention of blood, and physical contact without consent

Staring at the empty seat next to him, Alfred could not help but wonder what it would be like when Arthur would be the one sitting in it. It was the chair reserved for the Spade Queen, but since there hadn’t been one for over a hundred years it had remained empty and only brought out as tradition or possibly to remind the Spade Kingdom of what they lacked. Though it was never used it was as pristine as ever, as if it was just waiting for someone to sit upon it. Arthur would make an excellent Queen, Alfred was certain of that. His sharp tongue and superior attitude along with his dignified pose and gentlemanly personality would make the Spade Court seem more wickedly intimidating and appear more powerful. However the chair remained empty, but Alfred knew it wouldn’t be for long.

“I’m still... having trouble understanding all this.”

Ludwig’s troubled voice brought Alfred’s attention back to the meeting taking place. The Heart King appeared that he was desperately trying to understand what was being discussed, but he was having a hard time doing so. He wasn’t the only one, the Diamond Queen and Club Queen appeared equally bewildered by all this. The Club King said nothing but seemed to be in deep thought, and all the Jack’s with the exception of Yao were just trying to make sense all of this. The only ones who seemed to have an idea of what was going on was the Diamond King and the Heart Queen, as well as Alfred.

“I can understand why you’re having trouble Ludwig,” spoke Francis, “and even I trouble believing in it, but if there is one thing I know about our world is that there are things that exist that make little sense.”

“That doesn’t really explain this whole... situation,” said Elizabeta suddenly. “So you’re saying that Alfred here has been mysteriously visiting some garden for the past month without anyone noticing and meeting with someone he only just realised was the Spade Queen... and you’re expecting us to just accept all that?” Elizabeta meant well, she just couldn’t believe it as did the others.

“I have to admit that ever since arriving here, I’ve been feeling an odd presence,” confessed Erika sheepishly, “could it be that little girl you were referring to?”

“Do no be ridiculous Erika,” scoffed Basch suddenly, the Diamond Jack addressing his Queen in a bold manner, “you can’t believe such a tall tale can you?”

“The Spade King wouldn’t call for a Gathering unless it was needed,” retorted Yao.

“If he even understand what it’s meant for,” muttered Ivan under his breath, smiling as if he meant it as a joke.

“Ivan, I’m fairly certain that young Alfred here would not suddenly announce a Gathering with no good reason,” defended Ludwig, “even if I still have trouble understanding it.” With a sigh the Heart King glanced over at Alfred. “ I terribly sorry but... could you confirm what you just told us?”

Alfred sighed heavily. When he announced that he was hosting a sudden Gathering it got the other courts buzzing with curiosity and excitement, even he himself could not deny how thrilled he was to take part in it, let alone host it. Erika tried to pry the information out of him, Ivan asked if it had something to do with him, and even Ludwig offered to assist Alfred in setting it all up, given his impressive experience when it came to things like this. Alfred remained professional and waited until the Gathering took place before he told anyone anything. He waited until a day passed after announcing and once all four courts had gathered in a special chamber within the palace, Alfred told them all the reason he arranged it. At first they all thought he was playing them for fools but Francis and Kiku backed his story, and the whole thing left them dumbfounded.

It wasn’t the news that the Spade Queen had been located at long last that confused them, in fact they were rather intrigued with that part, it was how Alfred came to discover him and all the other things in between. The strange little girl, the bizarre things the Jokers told him, the odd dreams, the garden, the fact that no time passed when he was in the garden, everything that Alfred had told them was like something a child would make up to fool their parents. They began to bicker amongst themselves, trying to make sense out of it until Ludwig pleaded with Alfred to repeat what he had told them, leaving him with no choice but to do just that. Even after repeating the tale once more, it left everyone at the table feeling confused and a little worried.

“So let me simplify this as best I can,” said Ludwig as he folded his arms with a frown. “For the past month you’ve been suddenly finding yourself randomly transported from your palace to a garden, without anyone realising. You spend up to an hour or more there but when you return to the palace no time has passed and no one notices you’ve been gone.” Alfred nodded to confirm it so far. “In this garden you’ve been meeting with a man, who you recently confirmed is the Queen of Spades and that he has been locked up against his will. This is all you know apart from that a strange little girl is the one responsible for sending you there, but you’re the only one who has seen her so far?”

“Pretty much,” confirmed Alfred.

“I still find this hard to believe,” declared Roderich all of a sudden. “What evidence do you have that can confirm all this?”

Alfred didn’t have a lot of physical evidence. The only thing he had was the sketch Feliciano drew of Arthur from his mind, and even that wasn’t convincing everyone. It was the current issue at the moment; was this man truly the missing Queen of Spades and how was he going to prove it? His word wasn’t going to convince them fully, but it was all he had.

“Is he truly the Queen of Spades?” asked Ludwig.

“I saw the mark on his body,” answered Alfred.

“You never noticed it before?” Ivan was still smiling and it was starting to annoy Alfred.

“He had his shirt off at the time.” Francis made a small grin at that answer, but quickly straightened his face when Ludwig glared at him. “Look it doesn’t matter how I came to learn of it, what matters is that I have confirmed the identity of the Queen of Spades and he is trapped and needs our help.”

There was silence for a moment until Elizabeta broke it. “Why didn’t you tell us about this strange phenomenon that was happening to you before?”

Alfred cleared his throat as he thought up a suitable excuse. “I didn’t think it was necessary to alert the other Kingdoms to a personal problem. I was investigating it on my own but I did seek council with Francis and Kiku. It was only after I realised who he was that I decided to hold this Gathering.”

Yao seemed rather pleased with how Alfred handled that, bearing a faint smile of pride.

Ludwig then looked back towards Francis. “What have you to say about all this Francis?” 

Francis coughed a little. “The moment I arrived in the Spade Kingdom, Alfred told me of what was happening to him. I’ll admit I thought he was trying to make a fool of me at first... but as I listened I had, how do you say, a gut instinct that he was telling the truth. In case none of you had noticed he has changed quite a bit since his coronation. I also couldn’t deny there was something odd happening around him.”

“A gut feeling and a change in character still doesn’t prove anything,” muttered Elizabeta. “I’m not trying to offend you Alfred but if we are to believe that this man is the Queen of Spades then we need proper proof before we make any drastic decisions.”

Alfred was not offended at all, it was common for people from the Club Kingdom that they would not believe anything unless they had physical proof. Elizabeta was just trying to make certain that this whole thing was not just some elaborate game. Ivan still seemed deep in thought though that smile of his had yet to vanish and Roderich was just taking notes. Ludwig was also having difficulty understanding any of this, given his very forward personality, but he was trying and Kiki noticed. In fact Kiku was looking a little uncomfortable for some reason. Feliciano looked like he was trying to stay awake and Basch was constantly poking him to make certain he wouldn’t. Everyone was debating amongst themselves wether to believe or not and Alfred had used all his cards... he just needed someone to play theirs if he had any hope of convincing them.

“I’ve actually seen this man in one of my dreams,” said Kiku at last.

Now that seemed to grab everyone’s attention, it even got Feliciano to sit up. Since Kiku’s dreams were practically prophetic and they never once lied to him, everyone was ready to listen to what he had to say. Alfred was waiting for this for he knew that of Kiku confirmed that he saw Arthur in his dreams then they would believe him, though he wondered why Kiku had been holding back until now. Maybe he just wanted a dramatic pause before the reveal, but he wasn’t the type of person to do such a thing.

Kiku stood up and told everyone of his dream. “In the dream there were four open graves, each filled with a silver casket and the little girl Alfred mentioned pointing at him... at Arthur.” Kiku then looked riddled with guilt and glanced over at Alfred. “He... spoke to me...”

Alfred blinked. “What?” That wasn’t what Kiku told him the first time he heard this story. “You said he didn’t say anything.”

Kiku looked downward. “I didn’t want to... upset you,” he confessed, “what he said and what happened next was a little distressing.”

Alfred felt his heart thump hard against his ribs and a chill made it’s way up his spine. He was a little upset that Kiku lied to him but was also dreading the reason why he lied to him in the first place. Kiku wasn’t the kind of person who wouldn’t keep secrets for no good reason.

“So, what did he say?”

There was small pause as Kiku mentally prepared himself. “He asked me, why was I there. That I shouldn’t be there. I asked him where I was. He said that place was his eternal prison, that it was a place that existed constantly but never existed in the first place, and that he was a willing prisoner. I tried asking him who he was and why he was there in the first place... but...” Kiku paused and looked over at Alfred worriedly.

“What? What happened next?” asked Ludwig.

Kiku closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “He... vomited a large amount of blood... a lot of it... within seconds I was surrounded by a lake of blood, all of it from him. It flooded the graves and the Earth around me. He was in pain.” Alfred felt his chest tighten as the horrid image flooded into his mind. “I tried to help him,” continued Kiku, “but the little girl stopped me. She too was bleeding and in pain, she was crying out in agony but she told me not to interfere... that I was not the one to fix this, that I couldn’t fix this, that there was only one who could fix this... and then I woke up.”

Once Kiku had finished the entire room was filled with silence. Each person was trying to understand what on Earth the dream meant, trying to understand its true meaning. Four open graves with silver caskets. A little girl who was in pain. A mysterious man who was the Queen of Spades and a willing prisoner, vomiting up a lake of blood until the entire ground flooded. Alfred was also curious as to what it all meant but he was too concerned as to why Arthur was involved in it and why he had to suffer in such a way. That wasn’t his only problem for it seemed there was still some uncertainty about Arthur’s identity, each member of the Courts talking amongst themselves as they tried to figure it out. It also appeared they were now more concerned about Kiku’s dream as none of it sounded good.

“Is it possible there is a disaster coming?” asked Erika. It was what the were all thinking but she was the first to say it. “I’ve been feeling like there is something off lately, like the world around me is struggling to keep everything in order.”

“Our crops have also been turning up short lately, nothing to fret over but it’s been bothering me for a bit, we’ve even struggled a bit with some of our gardens and wildlife,” confessed Francis, “we assumed it was just a bit of bad luck... but I can’t help but wonder... it’s like our land is rotting.”

“It may be nothing... but reports in the Club Kingdom have shown that the temperature has dropped much lower than ever recorded,” revealed Roderich. 

“We’ve had many periods of when the temperature dropped at record levels,” announced Ivan, “and we’ve made all the necessary arrangements to be safe. The strong winds have made it a little hard but we can handle it.”

“We’ve experienced some minor floods in our lands actually,” confessed Ludwig, “nothing major... yet.”

Feliciano suddenly appeared alarmed. “They not all connected, are they?”

It was a thought on everyone’s mind but no one wanted to answer, or rather they didn’t want to say it. Alfred didn’t even realise the other Kingdoms were dealing with such matters, even if they were trivial there was something about them that was setting off alarm bells in his head. The Heart Kingdom did get floods every now and then but not this time of year, and it was approaching summer so the temperature in the Club Kingdom should be what it normally was. Even the Diamond Kingdom had the occasional bad crop period but to hear that they were actually concerned about this was something to ponder over. They weren’t exactly emergencies but there was something about them that was setting off alarm bells. 

As the others talked amongst themselves, Alfred beckoned Yao over. “Hey Yao, there hasn’t been any weird things happening in our Kingdom, has there?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“Nothing really our of the ordinary,” replied Yao as he went through his notes, “though... after hearing what they said I took a peek at the recent geological survey and... nothing really to worry about but there have been a few more tremors of late.”

“Tremors?”

“We get them from time to time but only on the outskirts of our realm. Lately there have been an increase but it’s not like the Kingdom is going to collapse and crumble away.”

It was then that the memory of what the strange girl told him in his dream many nights ago came flooding back into his mind.

_“The Kingdom of Clubs will freeze. The Kingdom of Hearts will flood. The Kingdom of Diamonds will rot. The Kingdom of Spades will crumble. The whole world will fall to ruin.”_

__

__

It couldn’t be a coincidence. After hearing what was happening in the other Kingdoms, Alfred could not help but think that they were indeed connected. Was what the girl told him coming to pass, and if it was then what exactly was he supposed to do to prevent it? The world will fall into ruin unless he finished what he supposedly started, but what was that? He never got a straight answer from her but deep down he knew that somehow it was connected to Arthur. He didn’t know what the connection was but he was certain it was there.

“I don’t mean to be rude but I think this meeting has gone off track,” declared Ivan suddenly. The Club King was met with a few gazes from the others whilst he continued to smile. “I believe we were discussing if this person young Alfred here has been meeting in his bizarre fashion is indeed the Queen of Spades. Whilst we can all agree that we are dealing with some minor issues in our own realms, and Queen Kiku’s dream does indeed cause need for some concern, I do not believe we are in any immediate danger. Besides I think we can all agree that locating the missing Queen is the highest priority if we wish to restore complete order in our realms.”

Although Alfred was indeed keen to convince everyone about Arthur, he was surprised that it was Ivan who was rallying everyone back to the original topic.

“You are correct,” sighed Ludwig, “but everyone here is still unconvinced, and I doubt that both Alfred’s word and Kiku’s dream are enough to sway them.”

This was true. Not everyone was convinced and Alfred needed everyone to be onboard before he started making plans on seeking out Arthur. Kiku’s dream didn’t exactly indicate that Arthur was a Queen, just a random man he dreamed about and his word alone wasn’t going to convince them. Fortunately he knew one way to make everyone believe him, however he knew that this method wasn’t going to sit well with everyone, but he had no choice.

“May I suggest that we... summon a Joker.”

His suggestion was met with disgruntled groans. Alfred was not the only one who disliked having a Joker in their presence, however a Joker could only speak the truth when asked and they always seemed to know a lot more than they let on. All Alfred had to do was ask the right questions to get the truth out of them.

“It would be the quickest way to confirm,” muttered Elizabeta, “unfortunately it’s also the most headache inducing route, especially if it’s that Gilbert.”

“It is true,” replied Ivan, who almost made a frown. “I agree to it.”

“I have no problem with you calling one,” sighed Ludwig. “I’ve dealt with them many times so I know how to handle them.”

“It better not be that brat,” huffed Francis, “But I’ll agree to it.”

With the other King’s approval, Alfred slowly raised his hand to his chest. He could see the uneasiness in their eyes and even Yao was looking a little anxious. Basch was tightening his grip on his concealed weapon and Francis was trying to move away from the table without anyone noticing. Even Roderich looked like he was trying to hide behind Ivan whilst everyone else was mentally bracing themselves for the inevitable. Jokers were nothing but trouble and bringing one into a Gathering was like setting off fireworks in a crowded room, it was a bad idea. Alfred had a gut feeling for which Joker was going to come and he was determined to get him to spill the truth.

With a deep sigh he uttered the words, “knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

Alfred glanced up and standing dead centre on the table, as if he had been there the entire time, smiling at him with a smug grin and his red eyes illuminating the dim room was Gilbert.

“The King of Spades.”

Gilbert chuckled at Alfred’s response and glanced around the table, the other court members looking up at him with disdain. “Well, well, well,” he mused, “it’s been a while since I’ve been to one of these. It looks like a full house... well-“ he glanced back at Alfred with a cheeky grin “-almost a full house.”

“Please keep this brief Alfred,” requested Ludwig, “ask him your queries and send him off.”

“Aww Luddy,” whined Gilbert, falling forward onto his stomach, resting his head upon his hands and kicking his legs in the air behind him, that grin of his seemingly growing wider. “Don’t be mean to me. When you were little you wanted me to be your big bro.”

Ludwig instantly went red in the face. “C-can we just get on with this.”

Alfred agreed, wanting to get answers out of Gilbert before he found a way to keep his secrets, even though a small part of him was dying to know why a young Ludwig wanted such a troublesome creature like Gilbert for a brother. “Joker, I need to ask you something.”

“Come now Al,” pouted Gilbert as he sat up and crossed both his arms and legs, “we’re friends, right? You can call me Gilbert. Or Gil. No wait, I like Gilbert.”

“Fine whatever,” sighed Alfred, “Gilbert I need to ask you about-“

“Elizabeta! You’re looking as ferocious as ever.” Gilbert completely ignored Alfred and shuffled closer to the Club Queen. “Kill anyone lately?”

“It might be sooner than you think,” she stated with an eerily friendly smile. 

Alfred grimaced as it was painfully clear Gilbert was trying to sabotage his attempts at getting answers. It also didn’t look good to the other courts that he was unable to control the situation he had created and he had to get it back under his control fast.

“Gilbert, I have a question that demands your answer regarding Arthur.”

Gilbert looked up at him and made a devilish smirk. “Arthur? Arthur?” He was obviously playing dumb but before Alfred could say anything Gilbert suddenly clapped his hands and said, “Oh, you mean this Arthur?”

Before anyone could say anything Gilbert’s body began to change shape, just as it had done when he changed his form into Maria Somerset and, much to Alfred’s shock, he had taken the form of the man he longed to see. Upon the table now sat a man with messy golden hair, green eyes with a pair of ridiculously thick eyebrows, and a scrawny build of a body adorned with beautiful decorated clothing. Alfred almost believed for a split second that it was indeed Arthur who was sitting before him upon the table.

“I can even do the accent,” chortled Gilbert, smirking with Arthur’s face, “cor blimey! You twat head! Bloody hell where is my tea? I could kill for an ale! You’re all a bunch of idiots!” Gilbert laughed with Arthur’s voice.

It was almost nightmarish to see Gilbert fool about in the form of Arthur, even the way he talked seem to mock him. It was insulting and he wanted nothing more than to shout at Gilbert, ordering him to cease this horrendous display. Yet it was also like a dream as this was the closest thing Alfred ever had to physically touching him, to finally have Arthur this close enough to hold. In the furthest corners of his mind thoughts about reaching out to take hold of him were becoming louder and louder. He wanted to reach out and grab him, he wanted to feel the softness of his skin, his hair, feel his breath and inhale his scent. He wanted to so much but he had to remind himself that despite this looking like Arthur, despite it sounding like him, it wasn’t him. It was just a ridiculous man who had shifted his form into someone else whom he happened to cherish.

He was about to command the Joker to stop but Gilbert seemed to be a step ahead of him. “I bet you want me to say things to you, words you’ve been fantasying about,” giggled the Joker, still using Arthur’s voice. “You want to hear things like; Alfred you’re so strong and handsome! Or even, Alfred you make me feel so alive! Or better yet, I cannot deny these feelings Alfred, I want you! Take me Alfred! Take me!”

Alfred went red in the face as Gilbert continued to make a fool of him. It was even more difficult as he continued to say such lewd things with Arthur’s voice. He tried to command him to stop but Alfred was now having a hard time controlling his own voice. “Stop it,” he said, but it came out like a squeaky plea.

“Sorry old boy, didn’t quite catch that,” chuckled Gilbert as he leaned closer. “Could you repeat that? Please? Alfy dear?”

His heart was thumping so loud Alfred was certain everyone else could hear it. He wanted to shout at him but he couldn’t, he couldn’t find the will nor strength to do so. He could only stare into those green eyes that Gilbert had perfectly mimicked.

Thankfully, before Gilbert could try anything else, Ludwig had grabbed him by the ear and yanked him away from Alfred. “Cease this behaviour at once Gilbert, and only speak when you’re spoken to! Try anything like that again and I’ll vow to never summon you in the Heart Kingdom ever again!”

That seemed to have worked as Arthur’s form melted away and Gilbert now sat there with a look of worry. “But I’ll never get to see you or sweet little Feliciano!”

“Exactly,” snapped the Heart King, Golding his arms and glaring up at him. “Now listen to Alfred and answer his questions!”

“Tch... Fine, fine,” muttered Gilbert with a pout. “You’re such a buzzkill.”

With the Joker now looking as if he was ready to behave, Ludwig turned to Alfred and motioned him to carry on. Alfred was still a little worked up over what happened and felt like an idiot for being made a fool of, but he had to get this back on track and thanks to Ludwig it looked like the Joker was going to cooperate. He sat up and straightened himself out, clearing his throat and looking at Gilbert with the most serious expression he could muster.

“Arthur Kirkland... the man I’ve been visiting in the garden... is he the Queen of Spades?”

Gilbert rolled his eyes and blew air past his closed lips. “He is.”

His answer made the others present at the table chatter amongst themselves frantically. Now it appeared that they did indeed acknowledge that Alfred had indeed located the missing Queen of Spades. That was one hurdle over and done with but he wasn’t quite at the finish line yet.

“Where is he?” demanded Alfred, wanting to keep the ball rolling.

Gilbert’s answer was not a positive one. “I dunno,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“What do you mean you don’t know!?” snapped Alfred.

“I. Don’t. Know.” Gilbert looked fed up now. “I can’t see where he is.”

Alfred looked around and he could see that the others were starting to show great concern. How could Gilbert not know, he should be able to locate any member of the four courts without even trying. He had to think, he had to ask Gilbert something that could help locate Arthur. “Well... do you know where his garden is?”

“I do.” Alfred almost smiled and was about to ask the location of the garden when Gilbert said, “but he’s not there.”

“What?”

“He’s not there. He’s not in the garden.”

Alfred felt a surge of panic begin to swell up inside him. What did he mean by that? How could Arthur no longer be in his garden? He was always in his garden, it was his prison after all. Did he escape after his last visit or was he moved somewhere else? If Gilbert couldn’t locate him, how on Earth was he going to find him? Horrible thoughts began to plague him and he began to dread that he’ll never see Arthur again.

“Who locked this Arthur away?” asked Francis suddenly, quickly noticing that Alfred was no longer in a fit state to continue. “Who locked the Queen of Spades up? How did they do this? How did they find the Queen before we could?”

Gilbert lazily gazed over at the Diamond King. He then raised a finger to his lips and smirked. “Can’t tell.”

“What do you mean you can’t tell!?” Elizabeta now stood up and glared daggers at Gilbert. “You are bound to answer any query given to you by any member of the four courts regardless who summoned you!”

“True,” replied Gilbert, “but I can’t tell.”

Before Elizabeta could demand why, Erika cut her off. “Someone has ordered you to keep your lips sealed.”

Gilbert clapped his hands with glee. “Correct my dear Queen.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Basch appeared confused. 

“A Joker is indeed bound to answer any question from any of us,” explained Erika, “unless they were ordered to keep something a secret.” She then looked round the table, her gentle eyes now glowing with a serious dread. “The only ones who can do that is one of us, or to be more precise, only a King can order a Joker to conceal a secret and only that King can command him to reveal it.”

“Correct again,” laughed Gilbert, clapping away and playing ignorant to the foul mood that swept across the room.

Alfred had been listening and his worst fears were coming to life. Gilbert knew who locked Arthur up but was commanded by one of Kings to keep it a secret. The new question now was, who ordered it? Which King locked up Arthur and commanded the Joker not to reveal the truth? He glanced around at Francis, Ludwig and Ivan. Was it truly one of them? Francis was like a big brother to him. Ludwig wasn’t the type to do such a thing, and even though Ivan seemed like the obvious suspect Alfred didn’t believe that it was him. Even the other Kings were looking at each other with suspicious eyes.

“There is no need to start accusing anyone anything,” stated Kiku quickly as he could easily detect the growing tension, “we don’t know what exactly Gilbert was commanded to conceal, and for all we know they probably had no part in this... situation.”

“Aw Kiku, you’re so considerate,” chuckled Gilbert, “But there are two things I can tell you.”

Everyone looked back at Gilbert as the Joker gazed upon a watch wrapped round his wrist. “In exactly 20 seconds, Alfred is going to visit his boyfriend in his garden again.”

Alfred felt a wave of confusion wash over him. “W-What? But you said he wasn’t in his-... how do you-...?”

“But before that,” said Gilbert, cutting off Alfred before he could ask his question, “I suggest you get comfortable my dear Heart Queen, you’re about to take a nap.”

Kiku flashed a rare look of frustration and stood up. “What are you-...”

Kiku paused and his face expressed an odd look, as if someone had just struck him across the face and was left speechless. He stood perfectly still and everyone stared at him with worried gazes. Just as Ludwig was about to speak to him to get his attention, Alfred watched in horror as Kiku’s eyes rolled back into his head and he staggered, loosing his balance and fell. The other Queen’s gasped in fear, even Feliciano yelped as he watched his Queen fall towards the floor. Alfred, bring the closet, pushed himself off of his chair and reached out to grab him before he got hurt. It felt like everything was slowing down as Alfred reached towards Kiku, the Heart Queen now completely unconscious as he was about to collide with the hardened floor. Alfred managed to get a grip on him and held him before he could hit the ground.

“Kiku! Are you ok!?”

Alfred stared down at his arms but Kiku wasn’t in them. 

He blinked and realised that the floor wasn’t blue and made of marble anymore but was now a decorated rug. He looked up expecting to see the other members of the four courts but instead found himself back in Arthur’s room. The fireplace was roaring away and a tea set had been laid out, steam still rising out of the half empty cup. There were dark clouds outside the window, and from the look of them they were going to unleash a terrible rain very soon. Alfred returned his attention to the room and even though it was indeed the place that he relaxed in with Arthur’s company, Alfred felt something was off. It seemed almost untidy even though it actually wasn’t. The books were indeed on the shelves but it looked like someone had ripped them all off and then shoved them back in no proper order. The ash bucket near the fireplace had not been emptied and it looked ready to spill over the rim. The cushions upon the seats were deflated and unorganised and even the tea set looked like it had been used again and again without getting washed. It was stuff like this that would get Arthur riled up.

Alfred couldn’t explain it but something felt off. Not just the room but the atmosphere itself. However his desire to see Arthur again pushed all those petty thoughts out of his mind as what the Joker had just told him still lingered. 

“Arthur? Arthur? Are you here?”

He was about to start searching the room when he spotted movement. He looked up and spotted Arthur, his arms filled with strange looking sheets. Arthur has only just noticed him and he stared at him without saying anything.

Alfred could only sigh with relief, for he had feared that he would never see him again. “Arthur you’re alright. Thank god, I thought-...”

Arthur said nothing but he suddenly scowled at him and stomped towards the exit. 

“Arthur?”

Arthur did not reply and slammed the door behind him. Confused, Alfred could only follow him, walking through the door like he had done many times before.

“Arthur? What’s wrong?”

He peered down the stairway, just missing him as he continued to briskly make his way to his garden, making no attempt to acknowledge him. Alfred chased after him and could only wonder why Arthur was in a foul mood. Was it because of his last visit? Arthur did seem unusually upset upon discovering that he was the King of Spades. Was that why he was angry? He was used to seeing Arthur in a foul mood but this one felt off just like everything else.

Alfred entered the garden, many of the plants and flowers were already covered in protective sheets. The sky above him was dark and gloomy, and there was a strong breeze blowing through the air. The ground appeared wet and Alfred could only assume that Arthur was trying to protect his garden from the oncoming rain. He spotted a few damaged plants and wondered if that was the reason Arthur was upset. He didn’t know, he wasn’t sure, but he felt like the reason Arthur was angry had something to do with him and he had to fix it.

He heard loud tapping and followed it until he spotted Arthur hammering a peg into the ground near one of his rose bushes. He appeared completely focused on the task at hand but Alfred really needed to talk to him.

“Arthur, I’m so glad to see you again. I thought I was-...”

“Leave.”

Alfred stopped dead in his tracks. Arthur sounded really off. It was like a mix of anger and calmness mixed together with a bitter cold, it was really unsettling. 

“Arthur, what’s wrong?” There was no reply, just the constant tapping of the hammer against the peg. “Arthur? Arthur, talk to me? What did I do? Is... is this about me being the King of Spades? Why has it upset you?”

As Alfred continued to talk, he couldn’t help but notice that Arthur was now frantically smashing the hammer against a now dented peg, as if he was hoping to block him out with the irritating sound. He made no attempt to look up at him, intentionally ignoring him as he hammered away. Alfred was starting to get frustrated, he hated it when he was ignored and after what happened back at the Gathering he wasn’t in the mood for this.

“Would you please just tell me what I did? Why are you-...”

“I said LEAVE!” 

Arthur suddenly ripped the dented peg out of the ground and threw it at him. Alfred flinched and almost forgot that he was physically unable to touch anything here as the peg just went right through him, smashing a potted plant behind him instead. He stared at the damage to the poor ruined flower before looking back at Arthur, who was already fumbling to get another peg into place. He didn’t even seem to care that he just ruined one of his precious plants.

“What’s the matter with you?” Alfred dared to take another step closer. “Why are you angry? What the hell did I do?”

“Don’t you dare ask me such things, you bastard!” Arthur threw another peg at him and once again it just phased through its intended target and hit another unfortunate plant pot.

“What are talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb!” If looks could kill then Alfred would already be six feet under as Arthur’s face portrayed a man who was way too angry, it would put Ludwig to shame.

“I seriously have no idea what I did to piss you off,” insisted Alfred.

“Liar!” Arthur then stood up and viciously glared at him. “Was this whole thing just a game for you? Was I just some creative distraction for you? How dare you do this to me!”

Alfred had no idea what Arthur was talking about but he could see that those angry green eyes of his were on the verge of unleashing a torrent of tears. “Arthur, I don’t-...”

“STOP LYING TO ME!” 

Arthur then threw the hammer at him but all it did was smash other potted plant, the broken pottery now barely resembled what it used to be. Alfred tried to think of what to say as he could detect the pain in his voice, but Arthur wasn’t allowing him to get a single word in.

“You horrible bastard,” cried Arthur, grabbing more pegs and throwing them at him in vain, “you're a cruel selfish brat. How... how could you do this to me! How could you!? I hate you! I never want to see your stupid face again! Get out of my garden and never come back! Don’t you ever come back!”

He could only stand there and watch, no longer flinching as the pegs were flung at him. Alfred was at loss of what to do. Arthur continued to curse him and, honestly, his words hurt more than the pegs probably would. What did he do that got him this upset? He wanted to ask but every time he tried to open his mouth, Arthur would cut him off and yell horrible things at him.

“I told you to get out!”

“Why!? What did I do?”

“Just go away!”

“Tell me, what have I done!? Arthur please, I’m really confused-...”

“Shut up, you lying brat!”

“Arthur-...”

“Go away!”

“Arthur, please-...

“I said go away!”

Arthur has thrown another peg at him but he lost his balance and he ended up falling face first onto the ground. Alfred approached to check if he was alright and as he drew closer he could see that Arthur’s small body was trembling. He could hear the small sobs that he had been trying so hard to hold in but he no longer had the strength to hold back the tears.

“Why did you do this?” Arthur sobbed into his arms. “How could you use me like this?”

Alfred kneeled down and tried to be as gentle as he could. “Arthur, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!?” Arthur glared up at him with tear filled eyes. “How could you not know? Why have you been coming here?”

Alfred was really lost. “I told you before, I don’t know why I’m coming here. If I knew how exactly I was coming here, I’d be trying to cone more often.” 

Arthur went silent as he recalled that Alfred had indeed told him that he had no idea why he was coming to his garden. “You are a horrible person,” he sobbed.

Biting his lip, Alfred stared down at the weeping man. “But I’m glad I come here because I get to be with you. I get to talk with you, I get to hear you sing, I even put up with your tantrums, but I enjoy every second of it... and soon I’m going to figure out where you are and bring you back to the Kingdom of Spades. I swear Arthur, I will find a way to release you from this prison, and then we’ll get to spend every second of every day together.”

Arthur said nothing at first but stared down at the ground with saddened eyes. He then formed a bitter smile and sat up to dry his eyes. “You truly have no idea... you really are an idiot.”

“What are you talking about?” Alfred scooted closer. “Look, this will cheer you up. I just held a Gathering and I managed to convince the other three courts that you exist! I had to call a Joker to prove it, but it worked! With their help I’ll be able to find you sooner rather than later.”

Arthur didn’t look at him but shook his head in disbelief. “You really don’t know... you have no idea where you are right now.”

“Of course I do,” insisted Alfred with a confused smile, “I’m in your garden.”

Arthur slowly looked up at him and Alfred felt a surge of worry as he stared at that miserable face, a face that was devoid of all hope. “You can’t Alfred.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t find me Alfred...”

Alfred felt his heart beat fast out of panic, fear building up as the idea of Arthur giving up on him was slowly becoming a reality. “Y-Yes I can! I’m really close, I am! I’m going to find you, I’m going to save you! It’s my duty as the heroic King of Spades! I will, I WILL save you! I swear, I promise!”

Not a single word he uttered seemed to convince him, and Arthur could only stare at him with pity. “Alfred... just forget about me.”

“NO!” Alfred grimaced at the very suggestion. That horrible memory of the nightmare he had not long ago began to resurface. “Never! I’m not ever going to forget you! Never, ever, ever! Don’t you dare say anything stupid like that again!” Alfred wanted to pull Arthur into a hug but knowing that he couldn’t only hurt him even more.

“Alfred... we can’t be together.”

“Yes we can and we will be!” Alfred really wanted to smack some sense into Arthur, but since he couldn’t he had to rely on his words, now sounding strained and desperate. “I’m the King and you are my Queen! We’re meant to be together! It’s fate!”

Those words only seemed to upset Arthur even more, gently hugging himself as if it was the only form of comfort he could get. “If only...”

“What? What are you talking about? Arthur, you have to tell me where you are so I can get you! Please Arthur, please just tell me where you are.”

Arthur sighed and wiped his eyes. “Alfred... you already-...”

“Who is Alfred?”

The two men looked up upon the sudden voice cutting through the air and standing close by was the horrid man whom Alfred believed was Arthur’s captor. He had somehow crept up without either of them noticing and stood there glaring at Arthur whilst holding some notebook, his expression looking furious and frantic. He even looked a little unbalanced and was giving off dangerous vibes. He clearly heard what Arthur had been saying and Alfred had a gut feeling that this was not going to end well. Arthur himself was mortified to see him and also realised that his conversation had been overheard by the unwanted visitor.

“Alfred? Um... he’s n-no one.” Arthur stammered as he stood up, his feeble attitude he had overcome whenever in this man’s presence had returned, much to Alfred’s dismay. “He’s just a-a pretend friend I-...”

“Do not lie to me you wretched creature!”

The man threw the notebook at Arthur, slapping him across the face before hitting the floor, the pages flapping about in the wind. Alfred could just make out words in Arthur’s handwriting that mentioned him, and small sketches of him that almost looked realistic. In another situation he would’ve been delighted to see such content about him, only it had been seen by someone who shouldn’t have known about in the first place.

“Leaving your wretched notebook laying about was foolish on your part,” spat the man, “I’ve read everything in there, including what you wrote about this Alfred person.”

Arthur fumbled with his hands and shrank back at the accusations thrown at him. “I-... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Who is Alfred?” The man stepped closer towards Arthur. “Who is he? Where is he? How long have you been conspiring with him against me?” Arthur tried to take a step back but the man grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and jerked him forward. “How did he get in here!? Answer me!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” whimpered Arthur, “I swear!”

“Liar!” 

Alfred gasped out loud as the man backhanded Arthur across the face so hard that it almost looked like his neck snapped. “Get off him,” he shouted, desperately trying to pull Arthur away from him but was unable to, much to his dismay. His hands just went through him, the two men continued arguing as Alfred tried to do something to split them apart.

“Who is he!?”

“I don’t know!”

“Stop lying to me or else!”

“I don’t know any Alfred!”

“You were just talking to someone!”

“That... w-was just one of my faerie friends, I swear.”

“Are you trying to mock me!?”

“No I’m not!”

“Do not lie to me Arthur, I know you’ve been plotting away in here. I know you’re planning to do something. You’ve been trying to find a way to overpower me! I know you have! You little trickster fiend! I should beat you into the ground.”

Arthur was desperately trying to free himself and cringed a little when his face was pulled in closer. “Please sir... you’re drunk.”

Alfred wasn’t sure how Arthur could tell if he was or not, maybe he could smell his breath or something. Then again as he looked at the man more carefully he could see signs that he wasn’t exactly all there. It was a horrible situation as Arthur was trapped in his clutches and he was unable to help him. It made him feel even more helpless and frustrated.

“Don’t you use that as an excuse with me!” 

The man then pulled Arthur even closer and Alfred felt his blood boil upon seeing how close they were, their chests were practically touching.

“His he here? Is he hiding somewhere in this garden?”

“There’s no one here!”

“Is he watching right now? Hiding somewhere amongst your weeds? How about I give him a reason to come out of hiding?”

Without warning the man suddenly clasped his free hand upon Arthur’s backside, squeezing it hard. Arthur gasped out loud at the unwanted touch and tried to push himself away, his face already turning red from shame. “Get off! Let go!”

Alfred felt something snap inside him at the horrendous sight, seeing that wretched man groping Arthur, HIS Arthur. He tried lunging at the man but to no avail. He hit the ground instead and swore loudly as he pushed himself back up to try and do something to stop it. He cursed at both himself and the man, vainly trying to swat at him. “Get off him! Get off him or I’ll tear you apart!”

The man could not hear him as he continued to taunt Arthur. “I’ve read your notebook Arthur, I know all about your secret boyfriend and that you two have sharing affection for each other. If he truly adores you as you have stated in your fantasy writing, then he should leapt out to save you, yes? Like this hero you made him out to be?”

“There is no Alfred,” choked Arthur, his struggles becoming more frantic. “Let me go! Please!”

Arthur’s eyes did meet with Alfred’s for a split second and it hurt him to see the pain and shame in those green eyes of his. Not only that but he could he see the desperation, as if he was trying to call out to him for his aid. Seeing Arthur being mistreated in such a disgusting way was making Alfred loose it. Thoughts of crushing the man’s head between his hands, ripping his arms off and beating him to death with them, forcing him to choke on his own blood, and all other manner of violent ideas flooded into his thoughts. However Alfred was unable to do any of that, he couldn’t even push him away, he didn’t know what to do. It was frustrating and angry tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes. He had just promised to Arthur that he would save him, but he couldn’t do anything to help him and it was hurting him more than getting stabbed by a blunt knife.

“Arthur, punch him across the face and run! Run back to your room! Hit him and run!” Alfred pleaded with Arthur to fight back as it was the only thing he could do. “You can do it! Just punch him and run!”

“Where is Alfred!?” The man shook Arthur and he continued to grope him, his hand now crawling under his shirt. “Where is he!?”

“I-I made him up,” wailed Arthur, squirming as his desperation to escape only grew, “Please, there is no Alfred!”

The man paused at what he was doing and just stared at Arthur. “You made him up?”

“Y-Yes,” responded Arthur, nodding his head desperately, “I did, I swear it! He was someone I made up to help me cope.”

The man then sneered at him. “You are such a poor liar Arthur... it looks like if I’m to draw this Alfred out, I’m going to have to get creative with you. Maybe make one of your fantasy’s come to life?”

Arthur went as stiff as a board before screaming, “NO!” He smacked the man across the face from out of nowhere, so hard that it caused him to loosen his hold and allow Arthur to break free.

For a second Alfred had hope that Arthur would be safe but that hope was quickly dashed when the man grabbed Arthur by the arm, halting his escape. Arthur yelped and rugged at his arm desperately. “You little worm! I’ll make you pay for that!” hissed the man.

Thankfully Arthur snatched his arm free, ripping his shirt in the process, and he stumbled as he tried to get away and towards the door that lead to his room. Alfred could only watch and encourage him to run faster as the man was on his tail. 

“Keep going Arthur! Hurry!” pleaded Alfred, his heart pounding insanely fast.

Arthur tried but the rain had already began to fall, making the ground slippery and unstable. It didn’t help that he was in a panicked state of mind, making his judgment and mobility greatly impaired. Thankfully the horrid man was also having difficulty, possibly because he had too much to drink or something, but as long as Arthur kept running he should make it and be safe. Alfred could do nothing but encourage Arthur to keep going, believing that if he made it to his room he could barricade the door and be safe from his tormentor.

“You’re almost there!” 

He looked back to see how far the man was and, to his horror, he watched as he picked up one of Arthur’s undamaged potted plants and hurled it at him. Despite being in a drunken state his aim was dead on and the pot smashed against the back of Arthur’s head, the poor man cried out in pain and fell onto his knees, grasping his head in an attempt to sooth the pain. The drunken man then made his way over towards him, raising his cane he carried with him always.

Alfred felt the colour leave his face and he looked back at Arthur to see he was still dazed from the attack. “Arthur! Get up! Now!”

Arthur groaned as he tried to get back on his feet but by then the man was already right behind him, that cane of his with the solid looking orb that decorated it now raised above his head. Without thinking Alfred tried to stand between the attacker and Arthur, hoping to shield his beloved from the deadly blow. He watched as it cane down to strike him, half expecting to feel some sort of pain from it... but it never came. In his moment of heroism he forgot about his own physical presence that did not exist here. The cane, along with the man’s arm phased through him and from behind him Alfred heard a sickening thud, the sound of a hard object colliding with flesh.

Turning round he could only watch in horror as Arthur’s body hit the floor and laid motionless in the wet dirt.

“ARTHUR!”

Alfred dropped down beside him desperately tried to take hold of his limp body, but every time he did his fingers just grabbed nothing but air. He tried again and again but it didn’t work. It was pointless, in the back of his mind he knew that it was impossible, but he kept trying and trying, tears of fear, anger and frustration falling down his face.

“Arthur! Get up! Get up! Please get up!” 

There was no response and Arthur laid there motionless. Dread began to take over and Alfred’s frantic attempts to hold him grew more erratic. He cried out in frustration as his hands continued to fail him, pleading with himself to continue. He hated this. He hated feeling so damn helpless when the person he cherished more than anything was in dire need of aid and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He’d give up everything if it meant he could do something for Arthur, anything and everything. He was willing do anything if it meant he could save him but no matter how devoted he was to this silent vows he was still unable to take hold of him... and it crushed him every time he couldn’t. 

A noise distracted him for a moment, looking up to see Arthur’s tormentor shuffling off, mumbling to himself some slurred words. Someone in the rain had called out to him and he left to follow whoever it was, leaving his victim unconscious and in a heavy rainstorm.

“Hey! Where are you going!?”

Alfred jumped back to his feet and ran over to the man, trying to stand in front of him and block his path. He hated to admit it but he was the only one who could do something to help Arthur, despite his burning hatred for this twisted creature.

“Go back! Go and help him you bastard!” Alfred shouted and screamed at him, but the man was unable to see him and continued to walk away. “You can’t leave him like this,” wailed Alfred, trying his hardest to stop him from leaving. “Please! Please help him!”

Once again the man ignored him, not even looking at him. Alfred cringed and glanced back at Arthur’s body, his heart lurching when he noticed that he was now semi-conscious and trying to push himself up from the dirt. Alfred sprinted back to his side, skidding down onto his knees and could only watch.

“Arthur! Arthur, are you ok?”

Arthur groaned as he weakly pushed himself up with trembling arms, but he only managed to roll over onto his back with the rain now hitting his face. His eyes were disoriented and Alfred cringed at the stream of blood that was trailing down his forehead.

“Arthur! You have to get up! Stay with me,” pleaded Alfred as he once again tried in vain to hold him.

Despite his condition Arthur did try to focus on him and opened his mouth to say something, but the attack had taken its toll and his head flopped back onto the ground, his eyes rolling upwards as they closed, a small moan managing to escape from his throat before passing out.

“No, no, no, NO! Arthur, no!”

Alfred tried screaming at him, tried to grab him, begging him to wake up. Even though he was kneeling right over him in a desperate effort to shield him for the elements, the cold rain continued to fall onto his still body, his clothes already soaking wet and even the blood was getting washed away.

“Arthur! Wake up!”

Again and again he tried to grab him, again and again he tried to pick him up to take him somewhere safe but nothing was working.

“Please, please, please!”

He didn’t know who he was pleading with but it was the only thing he could do.

“Please! PLEASE!”

Then he felt his hands latch onto something, he felt a small weight in his arms. A faint glimmer of hope shone in his eyes and he believed that he managed to pick Arthur up, that he was going to get him some help at long last. He stared down, expecting to see Arthur’s face but the unconscious body he held in his arms was not Arthur. The hair was sleek and dark, the skin was much paler and the body was much shorter. 

“W-what?”

“Kiku!”

Alfred suddenly felt someone pull the unconscious body away from him and he looked up to see Ludwig, taking Kiku from his arms and tried to gently wake him up. 

“Kiku, what’s the matter?”

“Waaah! What happened!”

“Is he alright!”

“Someone call for the doctor!”

Alfred looked around and found he was back in the Gathering hall, the other Kings, Queens and Jacks ignoring him as they all gathered round the unconscious Queen of Hearts. His eyes wandered between each person present in the hall until they landed upon Gilbert, still standing upon the table and was the only one who was looking at him.

“How’s Arthur doing?” asked the Joker, grinning mischievously.

Alfred looked back at the others. Ludwig was still trying to wake Kiku up, Feliciano was panicking on the spot, Elizabeta and Erika were trying to calm the Heart Jack down, Francis and Basch were assisting Ludwig, and Ivan only stood there with Roderich with a rare hint of concern in his eyes. Yao was already ordering the staff about to get a doctor and some pillows, completely oblivious to the state his own King was in. Kiku remained unconscious but was unhurt. 

Although Alfred should be joining in to offer support, he took a step back away from them and fled from the hall, no one noticing him running like a dog out of hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was going to be waaaaaay darker, but due to the rating and the fact that I believe I’ve tortured Arthur and Alfred enough, I decided against it.


	28. Chapter 28

Running from room to room, Alfred would frantically scan every single one he visited, cursing and smacking his arm against the wall when the person he sought wasn’t there. He ran up every single staircase, searched all the halls, entered rooms that were currently occupied, and even ran through all the gardens but no matter where he looked he couldn’t find her. He couldn’t find the strange girl.

“Little girl? Where are you!? Please! You have to send me back!”

Alfred bit down on his finger as he got no response, ignoring the odd looks his servants were giving him. He didn’t care. He couldn’t give up, he had to keep searching, he had to find her no matter what. She was the one who sent him to the garden, she had to send him back now. He had to get back and make certain Arthur was alright. He shivered as the memory of Arthur laying unconscious on the ground with a severe head injury whilst the rain fell down on him continued to plague him, it was driving him and with fear and dread.

He asked everyone he passed if they saw a strange little girl but none of them gave him the answer he wanted, they only looked at their King with worry in their eyes. Alfred didn’t realise it himself but he looked like a mess with his frantic eyes and desperate attitude, it was causing a lot of concern for everyone he ran by. He searched all the rooms he already explored again and again, calling out for, begging for her to come out but she never came. He searched the gardens once more, his own room, even the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere.

She had to come. She had to send her back right now, he couldn’t wait for the next random visit. At this very moment Arthur could be... could be... he didn’t even want to think about it, but it was those those thoughts that pushed him on. If only he knew her name, she probably would come out if he knew her name. She even said that he already knew it.

Hours passed before he finally had to pause in his search, resting against a wall to catch his breath. Dripping with sweat and breathing like a dog in that was overheated, he had no choice but to take this small break. He wanted to continue but for the first time in his life he found himself too weak and weary to carry on.

“Where are you?” he gasped, heaving heavily to get his heart back under control so he could hurry and continue his search.

“Alfred!”

Yao had appeared at the other end of the hallway, the Jack appeared flustered and displeased, as if he had been chasing after him the entire time. He straightened his hat out before marching towards the exhausted King.

“Alfred, where the hell did you run off to? You can’t just leave a Gathering without alerting anyone, especially one when one of your esteemed guests has collapsed!”

Pushing himself off the wall, Alfred heaved a few times before he managed to get enough air in his lungs to talk. “I’m sorry Yao... but I... I have to-...”

“There are no sorry’s and no but’s!” Yao stamped his foot down. “You don’t just ran away from your duties, and you don’t run around the palace like a madman scaring the staff!”

“You don’t understand... I have to... find her!”

“No excuses Alfred! You can’t just do what you want!”

“I have to find her! I have to find her to get back to him!”

Yao looked like he was ready to blow a blood vessel. “Alfred, you ran out of a Gathering after an important guest fainted, you’ve been running around like a lunatic, and on top of that you left a Joker in the Gathering hall where he has been doing nothing but causing mayhem! Do you have any idea how this makes us look in front of the other Kingdoms!?”

“Yao, please-...”

“You’re not a child anymore Alfred, you’re a King and that doesn’t mean you can disappear to play with your imaginary boyfriend!”

“HE’S NOT IMAGINARY!”

Alfred shouted so hard that it caused Yao to stumble backwards, almost falling over. “He’s real and he’s in trouble and I have to do something! I can’t be here! I have to be there! I have to find the girl, she’s the only one who can send me back! I have to go back!”

As he ranted on and on, Alfred didn’t realise that tears formed from stress and fear had started leaking down his face. His was trembling like a scared puppy and instead of looking like the proud King he should be, he just looked like a frightened child who just lost something precious to them. Even his clothes looked like they hadn’t been pressed and his tie was uneven, he looked like a wreak. Yao was still angry at him but even he appeared to show a hint of pity whilst staring at him moving back and forth.

“I got to find the girl!” continued Alfred.

“Alfred, calm down.”

“Only she... only she can send me back!”

“Take a deep breath, I’ll fetch some water.”

“He’s hurt... he’s hurt and I need to save him. I can’t leave him there all alone! I can’t!”

He began to pace frantically, lost and unsure of what to do, the whole world seem to spin around him and he couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t find the girl, he didn’t know how else to get back to the garden and for all he knew, at this very moment, Arthur could be... he didn’t want to think about it but trying not to think about it made him think about it. What could he do? What should he do?

“Alfred, please calm yourself,” pleaded Yao, his worry starting to show.

“I have to get back! I can’t be here, I need to be... I need to be...”

“Phew... finally found you both.”

Francis has appeared out of nowhere, the Diamond King fanning himself with one hand whilst the other held a handkerchief he used to wipe the sweat away. It was painful obvious that he had been running about and yet none of his clothing was out of place, only his forehead was slightly damp from the sweat. He quickly straightened himself out and briskly walked over to Alfred’s side, looping his arm around his firmly.

“Yao, I’ll take care of this. Could you be a dear and let the others know that Alfred has officially postponed the Gathering and is very sorry for leaving suddenly after that little drama but there was a matter he had to deal with. Don’t worry about Gilbert, Ludwig has ordered him not to leave the Gathering hall and he’s obeying for a change. Qui? Merci mon ami.”

With a wink directed at Yao, Francis led Alfred away from the worried Jack and into a secluded area of the garden they were in. It had all happened so fast that Alfred didn’t get the chance to process it all, but when he finally got his mind back in check he tried to pry his arm free from the Diamond King.

“Francis wait! I have to-...”

“No you don’t,” replied Francis, his voice much sterner than normal and his grip on him unusually tight.

He dragged Alfred towards a bench before turning to face him, his charming face now almost resembling Ludwig’s, just much more fairer.

“Sit. Down.” Francis pointed at the bench.

Alfred had never seen Francis looking so... angry? It was the only way he could describe the way he appeared. Francis was always friendly and laidback, it was like it was someone else wearing his face. Then again he had never seen Francis when he was in his “King mode” and he had heard rumours that, despite being fair and just, he could get quite intimidating if pushed.

Although he was still worried about Arthur, he didn’t want to find out how angry Francis could get. He sat down but did not relax. “Francis,” he began as the Diamond King sat down next to him, “you don’t understand, I have to-...”

“You’re right, I don’t understand,” sighed Francis as he leaned back on the bench, “but what I do understand is that you’re not acting how you should be.”

Seeing those sapphire blue eyes glare him made Alfred shiver. “But Arthur is-...”

Francis planted a finger onto his lips. “Alfred, who are you?”

“Huh?”

“Who. Are. You?”

Was this a game? “I’m Alfred... Alfred F. Jones?”

“You’re the King of Spades. Ruler of the Spade Kingdom. The mighty kingdom that is supposed to represent power and pride?”

Alfred had no time for this. He tried to stand up but Francis grabbed his arm and forced him back down. “Francis I have to-...”

“Listen Alfred, I cant tell you how to behave like a King but I can advise you, and right now you’re making mistakes a King shouldn’t make.”

“But-...”

“As King your duty is to your people and your land. You represent your kingdom and no matter what the situation, no matter what personal issues you’re going through, you must always stand tall and not let them rule over you. You DO NOT flee from a Gathering after one of your guests, as well as your friend, collapses.”

“But I-...”

“We’ve all been through them. I had to lead my people during a drought and it was during that time that I lost a dear friend who I had known since childhood. I had only been King for a year and all I wanted to do was cry in my room. However my people needed me to be strong. I needed to be strong when I asked the Heart Kingdom for aid. I had to keep all those fears and worries locked away.”

Alfred lowered his head.

“You’re young and I am well aware that you are currently dealing with things that no one else could possibly comprehend, but no matter what these things are, no matter how strange, your duty as King comes first. You must remember that-...”

“BUT MY QUEEN NEEDS ME!”

Alfred stood up and could only glare at Francis with desperate eyes. “He’s hurt and in trouble and the only way I can get back to the garden is through that girl! I need to find her so I can get back to Arthur and-“

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you tell me that when you visit this garden you are unable to physically interact with anything?”

“W-well yeah, but-...”

“So if you do find this girl and get her to send you back, what exactly are you going to do?”

Alfred flinched after Francis asked him this question. The Diamond King stared up at him with stoic expression.

“What exactly can you do for Arthur if you can’t do anything when you’re there?”

These questions seem to stab him right in the heart as the cold truth hit him hard. Even if he did manage to return to the garden, how was he going to help Arthur? He couldn’t pick him up, he couldn’t shield him from the rain, he couldn’t protect him from that wicked man who assaulted him so viscously. He couldn’t do anything for Arthur, even after promising him all those things to him, he couldn’t do a damn thing to keep him safe.

Everything caved in, the walls he had spent years forming in his mind had given way and he could do nothing to hold back the surge of emotions. He fell to his knees and planted his face onto Francis’ legs, sobbing uncontrollably. It was an unsightly act and something he hadn’t done since he was a child, but realising that he was failing as a King and unable to do anything for the man he loved was crushing him, and all he could do was cry like a child. It seemed to be the only thing he could do.

“You were right Francis,” he wept, “you were right, my kingdom is nothing without a Queen. I’m nothing without a Queen! I can’t do anything right without one and I can’t even save him. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Although he was unleashing rivers of tears and streams of snot onto the Diamond Kings decorative leggings, Francis gently stroked Alfred’s soft hair in order to comfort him, not seeming to care about the state his prized clothes were getting into.

“Alfred you have been doing an amazing job as a King, especially for someone so young. You’re just in a venerable position right now and you’re not making the right moves. It’s hard but it’s a burden we as Kings must bear, and unfortunately there are sacrifices we have to make for the good of our realms. I know it’s difficult but I know very well that you have the potential to be a great King.”

It was comforting to hear but Alfred still had no idea what move to make. There was so many things he had to do, one in particular was his top priority but it wasn’t the thing he should be concentrating on. Everything was a complete mess, just like the state of his mind.

Francis strokes him a few more times before forcing Alfred to look up at him, the Diamond King bearing a smile that a loving mother would wear. “Just take a seat and calm yourself. Get everything back into place and then wipe those tears away.”

He offered him a decorative handkerchief. With a tired sigh Alfred took it from him, removing his glasses to wipe his swollen eyes, his damp cheeks and eventually blowing his stuffed up nose. Whilst he was cleaning himself up he tried to calm down his frantic mind, doing his best to put logic and reason before his own wants and needs. He had to accept that even if he got back to the garden he was unable to do anything for Arthur. He hated to admit but it was the truth and he had to accept it. The only he could do for Arthur was hope he was alright, it was the only comfort he could give himself for the situation. Francis was also right that as a King he had to put the Kingdom first and he only just realised what a complete fool he must’ve looked as he ran around his own palace like a madman. He had to get himself back under control and fast, for his own sake, the sake of the Kingdom, and of course for Arthur. After all he couldn’t help him if he was acting like a lost child.

The pretty handkerchief that had been given to him was now dripping wet with all his shame, and all he could do was scrunch it up in his hand to hide it. Francis didn’t seem to mind, he just there patiently and waited for Alfred to calm down. Though his eyes were still a little red and puffy, he had managed to get himself back into a somewhat more calmer state than he was in before.

“Better?” asked Francis.

Alfred could just manage a nod.

“Understand what you need to do now?”

It seemed embarrassing to have Francis talk down to him like this but Alfred appreciated the Diamond King’s patience with him.

“I’m sorry about all that,” he mumbled.

Francis smirked and patted him on the back. “We’ve all had days like that, so don’t fret.”

Alfred managed to force a smile. “No wonder everyone seems to refer to you as their big brother.”

“Well what do you expect? It feels like everyone here is my little brother or sister.”

The two men chuckled a little before the silence returned. Alfred’s frown returned as he just noticed a rose bush nearby, the beautiful flowers rich in colour. It made him think of Arthur’s roses and how they put these ones to shame. His mind wandered back to his worries over Arthur, his only wish that he was ok and safe until his return. As much as he tried to push those worries aside, it was like try to push an entire continent with his bare hands.

Francis quickly noticed. “I know you don’t want to hear it, and I don’t know what happened, but you can’t help him right now.”

Alfred grimaced. “But I-...”

“However you managed to convince the other courts that your Queen is out there somewhere, and as it is our duty to keep the balance of the world in order they will aid you in seeking him out.”

That seemed to put Alfred at ease a bit more. Thanks to the Gathering everyone now believed him about Arthur and he was confident that they would all aid him in looking for him. It actually made him excited when he envisioned how they would all work together to bring the Queen of Spades back. Future generations talking about it until the end of time, the tale of how the Four Kingdoms came together to find a missing Queen. The whole thing was actually getting him a little excited and keen to get the ball rolling. However there was one thing that suddenly made a dark thought appear in his mind. Gilbert knew something about the whole thing but was unable to tell them and according to Erika, only a King could command a Joker to keep his lips sealed. If that was the case than who commanded Gilbert to keep his mouth shut? Francis was out of the question, Ludwig didn’t seem like the type, and even though he wanted to point the finger at Ivan he just couldn’t accuse him. Something in his gut was telling him that the King of Clubs has nothing to do with any of this. So then who ordered Gilbert to keep silent?

“Francis, tell me honestly,” he asked, “who do you think ordered Gilbert to keep a secret?”

Francis appeared troubled when answering. “What Erika said is true; only a King can command a Joker to keep his secrets. I don’t want to point a finger at anyone nor do I suspect any of them of anything. I... don’t know.”

It was an honest answer and Alfred appreciated it. It was something that was going to have to be discussed at the next Gathering.

“I better go check in on Kiku,” sighed Alfred, feeling guilty that he just ran out on him after he collapsed. “I hope he’s ok.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Francis with a smile, “but give yourself a few minutes before you do, you still have red eyes and he won’t appreciate you showing up after bawling like a child.”

As the Diamond King stood up to leave him alone, Alfred quickly said, “thanks for the talk Francis.”

Francis merely smirked at him and patted him on the head. “It’s no problem... but next time please don’t cry on my clothing.” He sheepishly tried to wipe off the stains Alfred had left on his beautiful clothes. “I don’t just let anyone use my attire as handkerchiefs you know.”

It made Alfred smirk a little and he watched as Francis went back inside, leaving alone in the garden. Inhaling a big breath of air before exhaling it out, Alfred quickly sorted himself out and got everything in his mind in order. He had to apologise to the other courts and check in on Kiku to make sure he was alright. Although he was still greatly concerned with Arthur he had to accept the fact that he couldn’t help him right now. All he could do was look forward to the day he’d finally hold him in his arms and pray that until then he’d be ok.

As he stood up to leave, a voice suddenly made him stop.

“Alfred.”

He looked over his shoulder and his heart leapt up his throat when he spotted the strange girl standing near by, her strange eyes staring up at him with a peculiar innocence.

“You were looking for me?”

As if his legs moved on his own, Alfred stride over towards her and fell onto his knees until he was eye level with her. With trembling hands he gently gripped her shoulders, as if he was afraid she’d vanish before he had the chance to talk to her. His heart was beating like mad and his earlier desire was starting to resurface, all of his fears and worries coming back like a flash flood. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask the girl to send him back to Arthur, but his conversation with Francis brought him back to his senses.

“You want to go back to see Arthur?”

Alfred wanted to nod but he couldn’t. He had obligations to uphold though his heart desired to ignore them.

“I can’t,” he blurted out with a sob. “Even if I go back I can’t help him. I can’t-...”

“Arthur is ok.”

That seemed to have slapped some of his fears out of his mind and Alfred gazed into her strange eyes with desperation. “He’s... he’s ok?”

The girl nodded. “Don’t worry about him right now, I know you left him in a troublesome predicament, but when you see him again he’ll be alright... sort of.”

Sort of? As much as he wondered what she meant by that he was still overcome with relief that Arthur was alright. It was like an enormous weight had been taken off his shoulders and he actually pulled the little girl into a hug.

“You were really worried about him?”

Alfred could only nod out of fear he’d start bawling again.

The girl patted him on the back but, as she pulled herself out of Alfred’s hold, her face expressed a bitter look. “There is something I have to tell you Alfred. You’re really close now and I didn’t want to tell you... but I feel like I have to.”

“Tell me what?” Alfred hoped it had something to do with Arthur’s true location.

With a deep sigh the girl looked up at and said, “the first thing I’ll tell you is that you will see Arthur again just after midnight tonight.”

“Really!?” That perked Alfred up a bit, knowing in advance when he’d see Arthur again was another relief. With the knowledge that Arthur was alright and the next time he’d meet him had help empty all the worries from his troubled thoughts.

The girl nodded but still looked sad, her eyes looking away from his before looking back. “The second thing I’ll tell you... after your visit with Arthur tonight, you’ll only see him one more time.”

Those words felt like someone had punched him in the gut. “W-What?”

She said nothing but looked down at her feet. “Sorry.”

That answer wasn’t good enough and Alfred scooted closer and gripped her shoulders once again, a little tighter than he had intended as she actually winced a little.

“What do you mean I’ll see him one last time?”

She gave no answer but her face expressed her guilt, as if she was truly sorry that she had to reveal such a truth to him. Alfred released her back could only tug at his own hair out of dread, cold sweat running down his back and a panic setting in. He only had two more visits with Arthur. Just two. One after midnight and one last meeting. It terrified him that he was about to loose the only thing that kept Arthur and himself connected.

“Why?” he gasped, “Why only one more time? What’s stopping you from sending me back to Arthur?”

The girl rubbed her arm as she tried to come up with an answer. “It’s not me. If it were up to me I send you back there whenever I can... but it’s not that simple.”

“What do you mean?” Alfred was trying not to raise his voice but he was desperate. “Just tell me why you can’t send me to Arthur anymore!?”

The girl bit her lip as she tried to explain. “It’s like a gate, but it takes two people to open it. I open it from this end and someone opens it on the other side.” The girl appeared frantic after explaining it to him as best he could. “I’m about to loose that other person who opens it for me.”

There were so many things Alfred wanted to ask, like who was the other person and why was she about to loose the connection, but the girl raised her hand. “I can’t reveal anything more to you yet Alfred. I’m sorry... but you’re really close now. You’re almost ready.”

Knowing he couldn’t get an answer out of her even if he tried, Alfred slumped over in defeat. So many emotions were running through his overworked mind and he could decide which one to express. He was angry, he was scared, he was upset, and he was completely clueless. He was still trying to get over the initial shock that his visits with Arthur were about to end. He knew deep down that they couldn’t last forever but he was still unable to accept this. He still had no clue about Arthur’s true location and he only had two more chances to obtain it. Just two more chances. Two more visits and that was it.

“I have to go now Alfred,” said the girl as she took a step back.

Alfred glanced up, only now realising that even the girl was displeased about the news she had told him. In fact it looked like she was close to tears. This whole thing must’ve been painful for her, even delivering news like this to him must have felt like a stab to the heart.

As she turned to walk away, Alfred called out to her. “Wait.”

The girl paused and looked over at him.

“Could you... at least tell me your name? It’d make it easy for me when I go looking for you again.” He said it with a small smile, in the hopes it would somehow cheer the girl up a bit.

The girl blinked before smiling a little. “You already know my name.”

“I do?”

Before he could ask, the girl had vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving Alfred all alone.

—————————————

Yao had always told Alfred that clock watching only slowed time down, and as he stared at that ivory clock that was hung up upon the wall in his bedroom, he slowly started to believe that it was all too true. The minutes felt like hours and as much as he wanted the minute hand to move faster he knew he couldn’t. Technically that wasn’t all true as he could actually speed time up if he wanted to, but his oath as the King of Spades meant that he couldn’t meddle with time for his own need. Kiku had told him that patience was a virtue and that he should at least uphold one of them. Alfred was running out of patience and was really tempted to speed time up, only a little, but he held back.

“If Arthur was here he’d say the same thing I bet,” he sighed.

He could actually picture him saying, “you may be the King of Spades but time is not your plaything, so suck it up you impatient brat.”

It made Alfred smirk but also increased his eagerness to see Arthur. He glanced back up the clock but the minute hand had hardly moved. With a defeated sigh he flopped back onto his bed and tried to take his mind off the time.

He thought back to the day’s earlier events. After his encounter with the mystery girl, he went to check in on Kiku and unfortunately he was still unconscious. He did offer his condolences to Ludwig and Feliciano, as well as apologising for his behaviour back at the Gathering. Ludwig was too concerned for his Queen to be angry but appreciated Alfred for coming over to check. Apparently this wasn’t the first time this had happened as Kiku would suddenly fall asleep out of the blue. When he awoke he would reveal the strange dream he had, so there was nothing to be concerned about. Alfred still promised that if they needed anything he’d be glad to offer it to them.

After that he went to visit the Club court and the Diamond court respectively, formally apologising to both of them for his behaviour. Francis insisted he should no longer worry over it and Erika was actually concerned with his own health. Basch just scowled at him like he normally did though it did seem more intense then usual. Ivan appeared to be in deep thought when Alfred spoke with him, hardly noticing Alfred’s apology at all. Elizabeta accepted his apology and also apologised for Ivan’s current behaviour, explaining that the events at the Gathering had concerned him. Roderich was nowhere to be seen as Ivan had sent him off to do some work or something. Alfred had also informed all the courts that the Gathering would resume tomorrow morning, promising be on his best behaviour during it.

Before he went to go see Yao, he did peek in the Gathering hall and spotted Gilbert casually laying on the table. As much as he wanted to send him away, Alfred had a feeling that he’d need the Joker’s presence at the Gathering tomorrow. Gilbert knew something and he intended to get the truth out of him.... somehow. Alfred watched as the Joker yawned and rolled over on the table to sleep, wondering if he had noticed him at all. It didn’t seem that leaving him like this would cause any harm as Ludwig had commanded him to behave.

Alfred then left the hall and sought out Yao, who was drinking tea in his office. The Jack was clearly angry at him and was hiding away to calm his nerves down before getting back to work. Alfred apologised to him over and over, wanting to explain why he acted the way he did and why it was a stupid thing to do. Yao said nothing at first but accepted his apology. He did scold Alfred, telling him the same things Francis had told him, only in a much more harsher tone of voice. Alfred accepted it all, knowing that Yao had been working ridiculously hard to keep the Spade Kingdom running, doing jobs and tasks that were not his responsibility and working until dawn to keep everything in check. If he didn’t have Yao by his side, Alfred had no idea how he would had ever manage. He apologised again and again until Yao pleaded with him to go and rest up for tomorrow.

With everything fixed as best as he could mend them, all Alfred could do was return to his room and wait until midnight had passed. He didn’t eat his dinner, he barely touch a drop of his favourite soda, he just sat on the foot of his bed and waited for time to pass. The sun eventually set, the stars came out and the moon illuminated the dark sky, and all Alfred did was stare at the clock. Yao had come to check in on him, merely out of concern when the maids informed him that the young King had not eaten his dinner. Alfred insisted he was fine and promised to eat a big breakfast on the morning, prompting Yao to leave him be.

Tired, with his eyelids trying to close around his weary eyes, Alfred yawned and was almost tempted to snuggle into his sheets, until he heard the chime he had been waiting for.

“Midnight!”

He sat up and listened to the clock as the twelve strikes began to ring out. He could hear the chimes from the distant clock tower in the city and the sound brought him hope. The strange girl promised him he’d see Arthur again after midnight.

He was incredibly eager and some of his fatigue had vanished, but after the fourth chime rung out a previous dread began to resurface. After tonight he’d only see Arthur one last time. It was a terrifying thought but it also filled him with determination. No matter what he had to get Arthur to tell him where he was so he could come and get him, no matter what he had to convince Arthur to help him find him. He only only two chances and he was determined to get the answers he desperately needed.

Before he realised it the twelfth chime had rung out and he looked back up at the clock to confirm it with his own eyes, only the clock was no longer hanging on the wall. Looking round he soon realised he was no longer in his room and his heart leapt with joy when he realised that the mystery girl had spoken the truth.

A small cough caught his attention and he looked over his shoulder. He found that he was now sitting at the foot of another bed and someone was rolled up under the duvet but the messy golden hair that was visible gave away the identity of who it was.

“Arthur!”

Alfred scrambled up the bed like a child. “Arthur! Are you ok!? Are you alright!?”

From under his duvet Arthur groaned and rolled over to peek out at him. Alfred paused when he saw his face. Arthur had a bandage on from where he had been hit and his eyes were wet and swollen, not from tears, and his nose was a little runny. He appeared paler than normal and even his breathing sounded different.

“Oh... you’re cough back already?”

Arthur’s voice sounded hoarse and he coughed again. Alfred glanced over at the bedside table and spotted a pile of used tissues, a bowl of hot water with a cloth resting on the rim, and a few bottles of medicine. Given that the last time he saw Arthur was where he ended up unconscious in his garden with heavy rain, he can only conclude that he had caught a nasty cold. He was also recovering from the blow to the head and that combined with his cold sounded like a terrible experience.

Although he was glad that Arthur was alright, Alfred couldn’t help but break out in tears out of relief.

“Why are you crying _cough_ you damn brat.” Arthur propped himself up as best he could, trying to smile at him as best he could.

“B-because I-... because you... that bastard... garden... I... waaaaaaAAAAAA!”

Alfred bawled his eyes out and cried like a baby. All of his fears and worries combined with his relief that Arthur was alive and well caused his tears to fall endlessly.

“Stop crying,” coughed Arthur, trying to relax on his back, “you don’t have to worry about it _cough_ anymore.”

“I-I know but you g-got hurt and I c-couldn’t do anything and I-...”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“But I-...”

“Alfred, you don’t need to cry about it. It’s all in the past now. So could you _cough_ please stop crying? You’ll get sick if you do.”

Alfred sniffled and rubbed his face in his sleeve, forcing himself to cease his tears. He felt a tad bit guilty for acting the way he did, especially with Arthur’s current condition.

“But... are you ok? You’re not in any pain? You’re not-...”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” insisted Arthur, “this cold will vanish by morning, and it’s just a bruise so it will clear up. Believe me I’m _cough_ fine.”

Although he was insistent that he was alright, Alfred couldn’t quite believe him. Still he didn’t want to agitate him whilst he was in such a state. Wiping his face once more, he scooted closer to the sick man and tried to relax.

“I was really scared when I left you like that,” he confessed, “I couldn’t relax at all. I thought that something terrible would happen to you whilst I was away.”

Arthur smirked a little. “I think the rain stopped a little while after I blacked out. When I woke up it _cough_ was already evening. I managed to get back to my room, dry up and take my medicine before resting.”

“That medicine?” Alfred pointed at the bottles, noticing they had no specific brand on them.

“I made it from those from the herbs in my garden,” boasted Arthur, sniffling a little, “trust me, this will clear up by morning.”

Alfred sighed, his frown returning as the memory from the garden began floating around in his subconscious. “I know but... I hate the idea of leaving you here all by yourself when that... bastard could hurt you again.”

“He was just in a bad mood.”

“Don’t defend him,” snapped Alfred suddenly. “He hurt you! He left you out in the rain!”

“I wasn’t,” grumbled Arthur. “He just seemed to be in a fouler mood than usual.”

“Whatever, he’s a bastard and I swear if I ever get my hands on him, I’ll rip him apart!” Alfred began to rant about the cruel things he’d do to Arthur’s captor. Everything he said only seemed to amuse Arthur and he even chuckled when Alfred mentioned something about booting him from the tallest tower.

Arthur than looked up him and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Me?”

“I can’t imagine what it was like for you,” he sighed as he pressed back against his pillow, “unable to do anything, only able to watch, and then leave my side when I was at my worst.” Arthur chuckled again but his smile seemed to express guilt. “I was actually more concerned about you than myself after all that. I was hoping you’d return quick so I could see if you were alright, and do that you could see I was ok.”

Hearing that made Alfred blush a little and also made him a little happy. So whilst he had been worried about Arthur, he had been thinking about him even in this horrendous state.

“I bet you were crying,” teased Arthur.

Alfred blushed even harder. “N-no! Hero’s don’t cry!”

“You were crying just now.”

“Those... were hero tears.”

“What the bloody hell are hero tears?”

“Tears that only heroes, like me, can shed!”

“You made that up.”

“I didn’t, it’s a real thing!”

“You are such a lying br-...” Arthur began coughing again, so hard that he had to roll over.

Alfred fretted a little over his health but his it from him. Although he was happy to see Arthur was in much better spirits, he was still keen to learn of his whereabouts so he could come and take him out of here. He didn’t want to stress him out either, worried that if he revealed about his final meeting with him would upset him. He had to be careful with what he said.

“Arthur, could you-...”

“Hey Alfred,” said Arthur suddenly, “what would we do first?”

“Huh?” Alfred tilted his head in confusion.

Arthur rolled back over to look up at him, clearly sick and weary but still able to bear a smile. “When you come and get me, free me from this place, what would we do first? Where would we go? What will we do?”

He had thought about it many times but never actually put any real thought into it. Alfred had only imagined bringing him home and having a happily ever after with him, and that was that, just a cheesy little ending to a story book tale. However as he stared down at Arthur’s face, the way he struggled to breath and hold in his coughs, he felt the need to tell him something to lift his spirits.

“The first thing we’d do? Um... I...”

“You don’t know, do you?” snorted Arthur.

“I do!” fumed Alfred, desperately trying to think. “The first thing we do is... oh, I’ll show you the view from the tallest tower in my palace!” He beamed as he envisioned it. “You can see the entire kingdom from up there.”

“All of it?”

“Uh huh, and at night time the city lights up. It illuminates like the moon and stars. Oh, and it’s the best place to see both sunrises and sunsets!”

Arthur’s smile suddenly vanished. “Dawn and dusk, huh?”

“Yep!” Alfred nodded ecstatically. “It’s really beautiful!”

Arthur sighed heavily. “I haven’t seen either in such a long time.”

Alfred cringed when he realised that living in such a place would rob him from the opportunities to appreciate the rising and the setting of the sun. It was only one other reason for him to rescue Arthur as quickly as possible, but for now he continued to indulge him with his ideas of what they would do on their first day together after freeing him.

“Ok but after that we’ll have a huge breakfast! With fruit smoothies, pancakes with syrup, bacon and eggs, cereal with marshmallows, waffles and even those scone things you like!”

Arthur cringed a little. “That sounds like a feast more than a breakfast. How can you eat all that?”

“I also have toasted tarts, and yogurts with crunchy cookie pieces mixed in,” boasted Alfred.

“That explains your pudgy waist,” chuckled Arthur.

“I’m not pudgy,” pouted Alfred, “anyway after that, I’ll take you on a personal tour through the city.”

“Really now?” Arthur relaxed against his pillow. “What will we see?”

Alfred then began to tell Arthur how he would take down the shopping district and buy him new fancy clothes fit for a Queen, treat him to the most delicious tea and cake in the fanciest tea house his Kingdom has to offer, and then walk him through their beautiful parks. He’d rent a horse and carriage and rake the reins himself, maybe even take him to the lake and rent one of those paddle boats and feed the swans that swam around them. He’d show him the museums and libraries, knowing that Arthur would be interested in those sort of things and then take him to a theme park and go on every ride until they were both sick. Afterwards he’d reserve an entire restaurant and treat him to an evening meal, he’d even hire a band to play some music. Then an evening stroll back to the palace, just as the streetlights began to light up, the pair of them walking hand in hand together.

Arthur listened, he’d chuckle every now and then but would mostly smile as Alfred cane up with extravagant ideas of what they would do together.

“What would we do when we get back to the palace?” asked Arthur, yawning a little.

Alfred blushed as certain ideas began popping up. “We’d... um... catch our breath in one my gardens. You’d have some tea and I’d drink some soda.”

“Hmm mmm,” moaned Arthur as his eyes began to close.

“Then we’d go to my... our room...” Alfred was starting to feel hot and was getting embarrassed. “We’d hug... and then we would... kiss... and... ARGH! Y-you know what I mean right? Arthur?” He looked down and saw that Arthur was close to falling asleep. “Arthur?”

Arthur merely smiled and unconsciously said, “that sounds lovely.”

Alfred realised that Arthur must’ve been really tired and had struggled to stay awake. He felt guilty for keeping him awake but those feelings quickly vanished when he realised that he must’ve filled Arthur with good thoughts, meaning that he’d hopefully dream about good things.  
That small smile he was making made Alfred feel like he had indeed done something good for Arthur and that was an accomplishment he felt proud of.

Feeling sleepy himself Alfred laid down next to him, staring at his pale face. He couldn’t take his eyes off him and though he did reach out to try and caress him, his fingers couldn’t touch him. With a defeated sigh he pulled his hand away.

“Arthur?”

“Hmmm?”

“When I take you home, would you like to do all that?”

“Hmm mm.”

Alfred smiles and yawned a little. “Hey, Arthur?”

“Hmm?” Arthur was really close to falling into a deep sleep.

“You know... I do love you.”

“Mmm...”

Arthur had finally succumbed to his tiredness and now slept peacefully beside him. Alfred sighed as his eyelids began to feel heavy and he could only stare at Arthur as long as he could before he finally drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to warn you all now, the next chapter is going to have a huge reveal :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, there is a big reveal here so brace yourselves. Also please leave feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts :)

The dream was starting to fade. He couldn’t quite remember the dream he had that night and as his conscious was slowly starting to awaken, all he could do was cling onto that dream as best he could, even the memories of it were starting to slip through his fingers. It was hard to make out but he felt like he was doing something with someone he cherished, something enjoyable, something wonderful. Alfred groaned as the sound of knocking was almost bringing him out of his slumber. He chose to ignore it as continuing his blissful sleep felt far more appealing, to reach out to that dream that brought him peace. He then heard the sound of a door opening, sharp and frantic footsteps and someone suddenly screaming his name directly in his ear.

“Alfred!”

Jerking upwards, Alfred finally opened his eyes and looked around. The daylight was illuminating his bedroom, birds outside were singing, and Yao was standing over him appearing flustered, as if he had been running a marathon.

“Alfred, do you realise what time it is? And did you seriously fall asleep in your clothes!?”

Looking at himself he cringed when he realised that he did indeed fall asleep in his clothes, and his fine clothing had ended up looking creased and untidy, his tie out of shape and his white shirt looking like something that just came out of dirty laundry basket. Even his hair was in a mess for he could feel it was out of shape and some of it was in his eyes and mouth. He rearranged his glasses and gasped when he spotted the clock on the wall and the time it displayed.

“I’m late,” he shrieked as he pushed himself off his bed, only to end up falling on the floor. He jumped back up and tried to run to his washroom. “I gotta change, I gotta wash, I gotta-...”

“There is no time,” snapped Yao, dragging him towards the door that lead out of his room. “You were supposed to be there ten minutes ago!”

Without even thinking about it, Alfred warped himself out of Yao’s hand and ended up in front of the door that lead to the Gathering hall and thankfully no one was around to see him in such a state. He checked himself out in a nearby mirror, cringing at himself and the mess he was in. He did his best to make himself look presentable but by the time he had finished, Yao had already made his way down.

“I told them you were taking care of a last minute proposal,” stated Yao, aiding Alfred in straightening up his loose tie, “just go in, apologise for being late, and get on with it.” Yao then pulled what looked like a juice box out of his pocket, snapped the straw in place and shoved it in Alfred’s mouth before he could even ask. “The Heart Queen is still resting, the Club Jack is currently absent, and the Joker is still in there but the Heart King is keeping him under control.” 

As Alfred drank the contents of the juice box he realised it was actually some sort of energy drink as he was getting some sort of buzz from it. It was actually waking up his work out mind.

“Just relax and go in there like nothing is wrong, and don’t forget to apologise,” commanded Yao, pulling the empty juice box away and quickly dusting Alfred’s coat. “Hopefully no one will notice the state of your uniform, as long as they don’t look at you for too long.”

Although he had literally just woken up, and was dreading for showing up late for the continuation of the Gathering, Alfred couldn’t help but smile at how keen and hardworking Yao was. Even after going through so much, Yao was always there to pick up the slack.

“Yao... I-...”

“Talk later, get in there now!” Yao then began shoving him towards the door. 

Alfred realised Yao was right, there was no time more mindless chatter. He was already running late for an important meeting and had to quickly get everything back on track. Taking a deep breath, and checking himself over one last time, Alfred opened the door. Inside all the other courts were already seated and looked like they were in a deep discussion, but the moment they noticed Alfred’s presence they ceased in their chatter and looked over at him. Gilbert who was still laying atop the table looked up and waved at him with a cheeky grin plastered upon his smug face. As Alfred walked in he noticed that the Club Jack was indeed missing along with the Heart Queen. He knew why Kiku was absent but where on Earth could Roderich be? Alfred could only assume that Ivan sent him off to do some work. Hearing a noticeable cough from Yao, who was walking behind him, he realised he had to quickly offer his apologies for his absence.

“Sorry about that everyone,” he said in the most casual tone he could muster, “work never duds, you know how it is.” He slid into his seat, making sure he didn’t appear too untidy. “So what did I miss?”

Francis was the one who answered him, and Alfred chose to ignore that raised eyebrow he had whilst staring at him. “We were actually discussing the issue that Gilbert here shared with us yesterday; the secret he was ordered to conceal.”

“That’s right,” cackled Gilbert, sitting up onto his rump and swinging side to side. “It’s a doozy of a secret!”

“I see,” replied Alfred, trying to look professional, “would you mind filling me in?”

Ludwig sat up, more so than than usual. “We were trying to figure out the best course of action to get Gilbert to reveal this secret and we actually came up with an idea-...”

As Ludwig spoke of what they had planned, Alfred’s gaze wandered round the table. He only just realised that all the other court members didn’t look their best either, even Francis was looking a little untidy than he would ever allow himself. He was certain that both Ludwig and Feliciano were wearing the same attire they wore yesterday, and there were dark circles under their eyes. Maybe after what happened with Kiku neither of them could go to sleep. Erika’s dress looked like it had been forced on and Alfred actually spied a button that was inserted into the wrong hole. Basch appeared to be worn out and, though he was clearly the best looking one out of the lot, Francis even looked like he didn’t even try to look his best. Ivan was trying to keep his smile on but looked like he was completely uninterested with what was going on, and Elizabeta’s hair was messier than usual. Were they all running late this morning? Were they all up last night until the early hours?

His eyes continued to wander round the table until they at last reached the vacant chair beside him, the extravagant chair meant for the Queen of Spades.

It suddenly dawned on him about his latest visit with Arthur; how he was relieved to see that Arthur was alright, despite having a little cold, how they bickered a little much to his amusement, and how the pair of them rested upon that bed and spoke about how their first date together would play out. Alfred went all out with his imagination though he was sincere in what he told him. Arthur’s smile whilst listening to him was enough to warm up his own heart, and even brought a small smile to his face. However it quickly vanished when he realised that he only had one last visit with Arthur. Just one last time to see the man he adored with all his heart. One last opportunity to get Arthur to reveal his location in the hopes of finding him faster and freeing him from his prison. He completely failed to get the information out of him last time and he knew he only had one last chance to get it. He wasn’t sure when his next visit would be but he had to be ready for it and no matter what he had to get Arthur to tell him something, anything to help him figure out where he was located.

“I said, what do you think Alfred?”

Alfred jerked when he heard his name and looked up to see everyone was looking at him. “Um... ‘scuse me?”

Ludwig sighed. “I suggested that we Kings take turns in requesting Gilbert to reveal this secret if his so we can clear this all up.”

“Say what?”

“We don’t know who ordered Gilbert to keep his secret, so we were going to take turns to command him to reveal it to us.”

“Sounds like a fun idea,” giggled Gilbert.

It sounded like a decent idea but it looked like the other Kings weren’t onboard with it. 

“I am curious, what happens when one of us commands him and he reveals this secret?” asked Ivan, his smile still present. “Is that King going to get interrogated as to why he ordered a Joker to conceal a secret regarding the missing Queen of Spades!”

There was a brief moment of silence. “We’ll cross that bridge at some other time,” sighed Ludwig.

“But what if the command was given to him by a past King?” asked Erika.

“It should still work,” insisted Ludwig.

“Still sounds like a waste of time,” scoffed Basch suddenly.

“Got something to hide?” teased Ivan.

The accusation caused Basch to actually snarl at the Club King, as he was clearly far more irritated than usual. Erika grabbed Basch by the arm and quietly commanded him to behave whilst Francis quickly cleared his throat. “Now, now, there is no need to point fingers already.”

Alfred was about to join in to keep order at the Gathering when Elizabeta cut him off. “Maybe we don’t have to do this.”

Everyone suddenly stared at her. Alfred couldn’t help but wonder why the Club court was so against the whole idea. Maybe they were indeed hiding something, or maybe they were afraid that by doing this would cause Gilbert to reveal something they didn’t want to share?

“Then what do you suggest Elizabeta?” asked Ludwig, trying to conceal a yawn.

Elizabeta straightened herself out before answering. “We just ask him,” she said as she pointed at Gilbert.

That seemed to confuse everyone. Erika fumbled with her fingers as she tried to make sense of Elizabeta’s suggestion. “But... he can’t reveal who-...”

“I know, he can’t tell us who was responsible for hiding the Queen of Spades away,” explained Elizabeta, “however we CAN ask him who ordered him to keep the secret.”

Everyone glanced at each other. It actually made a little sense. Gilbert claimed he couldn’t tell them who was responsible for locking Arthur away, but surely he’d be able to reveal who it was that told him to keep silent about it. It was actually the perfect loophole to the Joker’s logic and make get them an answer without causing tension between the other Kingdoms.

“That might work,” murmured Ludwig.

“It’s a good idea actually,” said Francis with a sigh of relief.

“I’m onboard with it,” chuckled Ivan.

Alfred actually liked that idea too and he knew he had to commend Elizabeta for coming up with a smart idea.

“As long as we get the answers we need I’m in for it,” he said as he looked up at the bored Joker. “Gilbert, can you tell us who ordered you to keep the secret regarding who imprisoned the Queen of Spades?”

Gilbert yawned and lazily stared at Alfred. “Hmm? Yeah sure, why not.”

Finally they were actually getting somewhere. “Ok then,” continued Alfred, not realising his heart was thumping really hard. “Who was it? Who ordered you to keep it a secret?”

Gilbert’s face formed his signature sly smile and he sat up, scooting a little closer to the young King. He answered loud enough for everyone to hear and his answer was something that no one was expecting to hear.

“A King of Spades did.”

The entire room went silent. The words that Gilbert spoke still echoed fresh in everyone’s minds as well as the walls of the hall they occupied. All of the courts could only stare at the Joker in disbelief before slowly turning their gazes towards Alfred, who could only stare back in utter confusion.

“W-what!?” Alfred stammered as he stared back at the Joker.

“I told you,” huffed Gilbert, “I was ordered by a King of Spades to keep the secret regarding the Queen of Spades.”

Alfred was completely lost. “But that... that...”

“That makes no sense!” 

Everyone was startled by Francis and his sudden loud and angry voice. He actually stood up and glared daggers at the Joker. “Why would the King of Spades order such a thing?”

Gilbert shrugged. “Because he didn’t want anyone finding out, duh.”

“But... But they spent years trying to figure out where their Queen was! This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Jeez, if it bothers you so much why don’t you ask him?” scoffed Gilbert as he pointed at Alfred.

Everyone’s eyes then returned to look upon Alfred, who was just as confused as the rest of them. Alfred stared back, uncertain what to say or even do. He looked over at Yao who was just as bewildered as he was. None of this made sense; why would a King of Spades command a Joker to keep a secret about the Queen of Spades? Why would they want to keep something like this a secret? It made no sense, it was like purposely sabotaging their own system.

Before Alfred could even ask Gilbert anything, the door to the hall suddenly opened and Roderich walked in, unaware of what had transpired.

“Apologies for being late,” he said as he wiped his hair back, “I just had to gather a few things.” He took his place and couldn’t help but notice the odd tension in the room. “Did I miss something?”

Before anyone could answer him, Ivan was the one who spoke first. “It turns out we’ve all been lead on some wild goose chase, courtesy of the Spade Kingdom,” he snorted.

Alfred growled at the accusation but before he could defend himself, Francis had already jumped in. “Now see here, I know full well that the Spade Kingdom has been working tirelessly to see out their missing Queen!”

“Then explain why it was the Spade King who commanded the Joker to keep it a secret?”

“I’m certain there is a reasonable explanation for all this,” insisted Ludwig as he tried to keep order. 

“What would that be? That the Spade Kingdom has been playing us for fools?”

“You can’t just start throwing accusations around like that!”

“Then you explain what this all means!”

“It doesn’t give you the right to assume such things!”

The bickering exploded into a full out argument as everyone started snapping and shouting at each other. Alfred could only watch at the chaos erupting around him. Ludwig was angrily trying to get everyone to calm down, Feliciano whimpered and jumped behind him out of fear, Erika was trying to keep Francis from getting even more riled up, Basch was confronting Yao who was just as angry at the accusations thrown at his Kingdom, Elizabeta was getting angry at Ivan but was also defending him, whilst Ivan himself just sat there and was determined to get his point across, whilst poor Roderich stood there completely lost. Gilbert was just relaxing on the table whilst munching away on popcorn he conjured up, taking pleasure in what was going on around him.

This wasn’t what Alfred wanted. The whole purpose he arranged this Gathering was so he could get everyone to help him locate Arthur and save him, not to turn all the Kingdoms against each other. He was just as confused as they were all, he could not understand why a King of Spades was ordered to conceal a secret regarding the missing Queen. He knew for certain that he himself never ordered such a thing, and his father was obsessed with the mystery itself, so then who ordered such a thing? He was trying to think but listening to all the voices around bark out angry tones was only frustrating him.

He wanted Yao’s advice but he was currently trying to keep Basch calm whilst also trying to update Roderich on what was going on. He wanted to ask Francis for his aid but he was stuck in a heated debate with Ivan whilst Ludwig was trying in vain to calm them both down. The whole Gathering was a complete mess and that bastard Gilbert was just watching the whole thing like a show, laughing every time someone did something he found amusing. He was getting more irritated by the second and all this shouting was only making it grow faster. 

He couldn’t take it anymore and in a very loud voice he demanded, “would everyone shut the hell up!” 

He then slammed his fists so hard onto the table it almost split into two, causing Gilbert to sit up and cautiously took care where he was. It did the trick as everyone suddenly went silent and all looked at Alfred, the young King clearly had enough.

“Now I’m just as confused as the rest of you,” he barked, his face turning an angry shade of red, “and I don’t understand any of this, but it still stands that my Kingdom lacks a Queen and the Joker now knows something about it. So if you would all kindly take your seats so we can figure this all out, NOW!”

Almost like trained dogs they all sat back down and remained perfectly still. None of them had never really seen Alfred get angry before, even Alfred himself was a bit surprised at that outburst he made. He must’ve been channeling Arthur or something.

He straightened his tie and politely said, “thank you.”

“Surely you can understand why this has upset us,” said Elizabeta suddenly. “For a hundred years the mystery of your missing Queen has had us all dreading if the same thing would ever happen to us. Now we learn that it is your Kingdom that had something to do with it.”

Alfred pondered for a moment until something jogged his memory. He recalled what Peter the Joker had told him over a week ago. “There was a cover up,” he stated.

“Beg your pardon?” Ludwig had to be sure he heard that right.

“Back at that fair I held I ended up accidentally summoning the other Joker, Peter,” explained Alfred, “and he revealed to me that Gilbert was involved in a cover up of some sort.”

Gilbert suddenly scoffed and folded his arms in a huff. “That little shrimp really loves to spoil the fun sometimes.”

“So... a previous King of Spades was responsible for all of this?” Francis appeared to be in complete shock. 

“It seems so,” sighed Alfred.

“But that makes no sense,” insisted Erika, standing up and appearing more troubled than her King, “removing any member of your court, especially the Queen, is like dooming the entire Kingdom. Why would anyone do such a thing?”

Alfred turned his gaze to Gilbert. “He knows,” he said in a determined voice, “and if I’m right I can command you to reveal your secrets.”

Gilbert shrugged. “You can I guess,” he muttered, “only there is a catch.”

Alfred had to resist shouting at him. “And what would that be?” he hissed.

Gilbert smirked. “She won’t let me.”

She? “Who are you talking about?”

“You know, the little girl who’s name you pretend not to know.”

That was something Alfred had not expected and it shocked him once more. Gilbert could only be referring to the mystery girl, the one who had been sending him to Arthur’s garden. Why? Why did she ask Gilbert to continue to keep it a secret? What was she hiding from him?

“Ok, now that doesn’t make a lick of sense,” snapped Basch suddenly, “how can some girl order you to disobey an order from a King?”

Gilbert cackled. “Oh but she can,” he laughed, “she’s not a normal little girl. In fact calling her a little girl is a bit insulting, but she’s at the centre of all this. She knows exactly what’s going on, she knows all about Alfred’s boyfriend, and she is the part of the reason we’re not all dead yet.”

That got everyone’s attention. They all stared at him after he revealed that tad bit of information. “What do you mean,” barked Ludwig, “Gilbert, what are you talking about?”

With another cackle, Gilbert lazily stared at his watch. “Oh but I won’t tell you, your Queen is about to.”

Before Ludwig could ask the door to the Gathering hall opened with a loud thud. Everyone looked up to see Kiku standing in the doorway, looking out of breath and still in his nightwear. He did not look at all well and should he resting back in his bed, but his golden eyes were telling everyone that he had no intention to go back to lay down. He staggered in and Feliciano was the first one to dash to his side and support him.

“Kiku,” snapped Ludwig out of worry, “you should be resting! Go back to your room, please.”

“No,” gasped Kiku, grasping the table for support as Feliciano aided him into his chair. “There is no time. We are running out of time. You must let me speak!”

“What do you mean?” asked Alfred, concerned with Kiku’s health but even more concerned with whatever it was that got him so worked up. “Kiku, you’re not looking 100%. Maybe you should-...”

“I need to tell you all something important,” argued the Heart Queen firmly. Taking a sip of water from a glass Feliciano poured for him, Kiku swallowed hard and stared at everyone at the table. “The world... the world is going to end.”

The tension in the room suddenly grew even more heavy than before, and they could only stare back at the Heart Queen in sheer shock. It was one thing after another. First a supposed cover up was almost uncovered and now the end of the world was coming? Although the reveal was completely out of the blue, everyone seemed to believe what Kiku was true without question, as if they knew deep down that it was indeed approaching. Kiku was still trying to catch his breath but he was still determined to keep talking to inform everyone of what was going on.

“I dreamt of our world ending,” he gasped, “the Club Kingdom completely frozen over, the Diamond Kingdom rotten over, the Heart Kingdom submerged under a vast lake, and the Spade Kingdom in complete ruin. I watched it all happen around me.” Kiku was clearly shaken by what he saw. 

Everyone else was frozen in horror. Kiku’s Dreams never lied and if what he said was true than they were approaching the end times. Before anyone could ask, Kiku continued.

“But I saw something else,” he gasped. He then looked over at Alfred. “I saw him again, your Arthur. He... was locking a silver door. Then the world went back to normal. I’m not sure what it means but... I think Arthur, or rather the Queen of Spades, is the key to stopping this catastrophe.”

Before Alfred could ask, Francis suddenly cut in. “Are you certain about this? Are you absolutely sure this true.”

“Oh it’s true,” laughed Gilbert suddenly. “Unfortunately a certain someone did something very naughty and caused the inevitable end of the world. Everything that Kiku said will come to pass... maybe.”

Everyone suddenly stared at Gilbert. “Wait a minute... you KNEW about this!?” snapped Elizabeta, her face expressing such anger that even Ivan shifted away from her a little.

“Of course I did,” boasted Gilbert, who seemed oddly proud of this fact. “It’s my job to know such things.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you say anything about this before!?” shouted Roderich, the poor man expressing horror as well as anger.

Once more Gilbert smirked at them. “You never asked.”

Elizabeta looked ready to lunge at him but both Ivan and Roderich held her back. Francis was wiping his brow with a handkerchief whilst Erika was sitting in absolute shock. Even Ludwig wasn’t certain how to handle any of this.

“We... we need to get this all in order, to make sense of it,” he declared, though he seemed conflicted about it all.

It was all they could do at the moment, to both collect themselves and to hopefully make sense of it all. It took a few minutes though it allowed Kiku to relax and catch his breath whilst Gilbert continued to lounge about on the table, despite everyone wishing he’d go away they knew he had to remain until everything was settled. So from everything they learnt so far it was a King of Spades who ordered Gilbert to keep a secret hidden, a secret that was very possibly tied to some cover up involving the Queen of Spades. They don’t know why nor did it make any sense but it was fact right now. Although Alfred should have the right to command Gilbert to reveal the secret he was unable to, as Gilbert stated that the mystery girl asked him not to and he had to obey. This should not be possible but Gilbert insisted that the girl had the power to do so. On top of all that Kiku had a prothetic dream about the end of the world. It came completely out of nowhere but even Alfred realised that he should’ve seen it coming. The other Kingdoms felt foolish as they should’ve seen it coming but no one could predict that the incidents they witnessed in their realms were leading to the end times. However there was hope as Kiku had stated that in order to prevent this they needed to locate the Queen of Spades, or more specifically, they had to look for this Arthur Kirkland.

There was so much to take in and in such a short amount of time, but as Kiku stated there wasn’t much time and they had to come up with a strategy fast.

“So, if what Kiku stated is true, then we need to locate this Mr Kirkland?” confirmed Erika.

“It seems that way,” sighed Ludwig, “according to Kiku, he might be the key to prevent this doomsday.”

Although Alfred was ecstatic for this was what he wanted all along, he felt something was off. He wasn’t certain what it was but it felt like there was a nagging sensation in the back of his mind.

“Well this should be easy,” proclaimed Francis as he looked over at him, “Don’t you visit him in those strange circumstances? Have you asked him where he is located?”

Alfred bit his lip. “I... tried...” He trailed off but it was clear to the others that he had no answer for them.

“Well there is always the next time, right?”

Alfred couldn’t bear to tell them that he only had one more chance to do so, his final visit with Arthur was something he both dreaded and anticipated.

“Um... if I may?” Roderich cleared his throat, glancing down at Ivan who gave him an assuring nod. Roderich then pulled out a file. “At the request of my King I was looking into this Arthur Kirkland, trying to pinpoint his whereabouts.”

“You... you what!?” Alfred was shocked that Ivan had been conducting his own investigation into Arthur’s location.

“It was you who piqued my curiosity about this man Alfred,” stated Ivan with that casual smile of his. “When you told me he managed to grow five Elder Trees, I was eager to meet the man myself. Maybe learn a few things.”

Although Alfred cringed at the idea of Ivan locating Arthur before him, he couldn’t really afford to care at this point. 

“Anyway I checked all the birth records recorded in all the Kingdoms,” continued Roderich, “I hoped that if I knew where he was born I’d have an easier time locating him.” Roderich then frowned as he placed the file on the table. “I was unable to find any record about the man. I kept searching, checking every single record until I came across this one.”

At first Alfred lit up at the thought of having something to help them find Arthur but Roderich didn’t look at all pleased with himself. 

“Unfortunately this file doesn’t make any sense. If I may Alfred, are you certain his name is indeed Arthur Kirkland?”

“Of course it is,” insisted Alfred, uncertain what the Club Jack was getting at, “he told me it was the name given to him at some orphanage-...”

“In a rural village located a few days northeast of your Kingdom?”

Alfred blinked after Roderich cut him off. It was true, Arthur said he was born in some village but he didn’t realise it was that close, if was indeed the same village. If it was though, then why was Roderich confused about it all.

“I don’t mean to change the subject,” said Feliciano suddenly. Everyone glanced up at the Heart Jack, who was oddly quiet about the whole doomsday thing. Feliciano looked over at Gilbert and asked, “what exactly is the cause of this... d-doomsday?”

That... was actually a valid question, even Kiku was intrigued by this. If the end of the world was coming then what exactly set it off? Gilbert only mentioned that someone did something bad, and whatever that bad thing was it had doomed the entire world.

Gilbert yawned and stretched out before answering. “Four Elder Trees were slain.”

The moment he revealed that, Ivan actually gasped out loud in shock. Everyone else were equally horrified upon learning this. What kind of maniac who chop down not one but four Elder Trees? Gilbert didn’t seem to care too much for some reason.

“Who-... who would do such a terrible deed?” demanded Elizabeta, “harming a single splinter upon an Elder Tree is just asking for a catastrophe to happen!”

Gilbert then looked over at Alfred yet again. “You’ll see.”

Alfred didn’t like the way Gilbert said that. “What do you mean?”

“My dear Al, you’re about to enjoy your final visit with your dear sweet boyfriend,” giggled Gilbert as he shifted closer to the Spade King, “and when you come back, you’re going to learn things you wish you never knew.”

“W-wait,” gasped Alfred, standing up suddenly that it knocked his chair over. “How do you know?”

He waited for Gilbert to answer but the Joker just stared at him, completely still. Alfred was about to grab him when he looked round the table and noticed something was off. None of them were moving. Everyone was completely still as a statue, even the Joker. It was like being inside a painting and he was the only thing that could move about. Looking around Alfred realised that his chair he thought he knocked over was now just hanging just above the ground, and a bird that was flying past the window was just hovering in the air. He glanced at his watch and saw that it wasn’t moving at all. It suddenly dawned on him that somehow time had stopped.

How? How did this happen? He wasn’t doing this, so then who was? Before he could even think about activating his own powers, he felt something grab his hand. He looked down and gasped when he saw the strange girl clapping onto him, but she wasn’t alone. There were four other children, just as strange looking as she was. They were all looking up at him, smiling innocent grins, as if they were playing some sort of game.

“Who... who are you?”

The children looked at each and one of them said, “he can see us.”

“Of course I can see you! Who are-...”

Before Alfred could finish his question, the children tugged at him arm and Alfred cried out as he fell forward. Everything started to blur and stretch around him, and it felt like he was getting pulled in all directions. Soon he was unable to tell the difference between up or down, left or right. It was almost as if he was floating in some sort of void.

Yet as soon as it had happened it was all over and Alfred stumbled back onto his feet, wheezing heavily as he tried to still his beating heart. He looked around, thinking he was still in the Gathering Hall but he instantly recognised it as Arthur’s room. His heart leapt at the realisation and he turned round, looking for where Arthur could be.

“Arthur!”

He heard faint sobbing. Recognising it instantly, he followed it into the main room and found Arthur, sitting on the floor but his face buried in one of the cushions on his couch. He was fully dressed and seemed healthier, but he was in an obvious poor state of mind.

Alfred ran over and fell to his knees before him. “Arthur! Arthur, it’s me!”

Arthur’s face peered out from the cushion, his eyes swollen and red. He then sat up and wiped his eyes, trying to tidy himself up as best he could.

“You... you came back,” he choked as he dried his eyes. “You have poor timing as always.”

Alfred tried to smile back but he was too concerned with Arthur’s condition. “I can’t help it,” he said in a dry witty tone of voice.

“Well you really need to learn proper etiquette,” scoffed Arthur as he dried his eyes. “Timing is everything you know.”

It sounded like Arthur was trying to force himself into a fairer mood but was having difficulty with it. Alfred cringed as he wasn’t certain how long he had left here. This... it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks but this was his last visit with Arthur. No more chats in his garden, no more amusing arguments, interesting conversations, amazing stories, and no more Arthur. No matter what he had to get Arthur to tell him where he was, he just had to.

“Arthur... lets go into your garden quickly,” pleaded Alfred, “I really need to-...”

“I can’t,” sobbed Arthur, his tears starting to reform. “He... he took it from me.”

“W-What?”

Arthur wiped his eyes once again. “He’s lost it Alfred... he thinks I’m trying to do something to overpower him. He threw me in here and had forbidden me to go back to my garden. He said he’s going to lock me away somewhere else where I can’t even see the sunlight.”

And with that Arthur broke down and cried all over again. Alfred could only stare back at him with horror. To imagine Arthur to be condemned to a fate already worse than the one he was currently in was like a nightmare coming to life. He clenched his fists and knew that it was now or never.

“Arthur, you have to tell me where you are! You have to tell me where I can find you. Please Arthur, I can save you! I can free you! We can be together, you just have to tell me where you are.”

Arthur dried his eyes again but the tears kept falling down his cheeks. He looked up at Alfred and smiled sadly. “You know, I really enjoyed your visits.”

What was this? Why wasn’t he telling him?

“Arthur, please-...”

“It was like a dream come true... I enjoyed every second of it. I only wish... I only wish we could be together.”

“But we can Arthur!” Alfred was close to tears of his own, forming out of panic and fear. “Please Arthur, please tell me where to find you!”

Arthur fell silent and glanced around his room. “I had a dream last night... about what our first day together would be like. There was dancing and singing and so many beautiful things to see and do. I wanted to sleep forever if it meant I could stay there... but... dreams don’t last forever. Like everything else, it eventually ends and we’re powerless to stop it. All we can do is wish for time to slow down, maybe even stop, just to live in that blissful moment forever. I wish I never woke up that day. I wish I dreamed forever... but if I didn’t wake up..,” He looked up at Alfred, the smile he was making was trembling. “If I didn’t wake up I’d never see you again.” Arthur then leaned as close to Alfred as he could. “I wish I could hug you. I wish I could listen to your heartbeat, to feel your warmth against mine. But I never can... you’re like a dream... you’re going to end soon... and I can’t stop it.”

Alfred wanted to hug Arthur just as much as he did, but he knew it was impossible. He just wanted to scoop him up and take him away from all this. Take him to the furthest reaches of the world and live a life of bliss together, where every single day he would cherish him like the treasure he was. He wanted it so much that it hurt, his chest tightening at thought of it never coming to pass.

Fearing he’d go back any second, he tried once again. “Arthur... you have to tell me... I’m begging you... please tell me where I can find you.”

“Alfred-...”

“PLEASE!” Alfred himself was beginning to sob uncontrollably. “Please Arthur, please! Please tell me, I’m begging you... please...”

Alfred wept as it felt like no matter how much he begged he wasn’t going to get his desired answer. There was silence for a while, apart from the sobs Alfred was making, the two men sitting there in silence.

“Alfred,” began Arthur in a gentle voice, “I bet you’re a fine King. I truly believe that you are a King who is loved and adored by your people. I would’ve been honoured to be your Queen... but you need to understand, I cannot be your Queen.”

“Why not!?” Alfred shouted at him, feeling like a child throwing a tantrum. “Why the hell not!? Why!? Tell me!”

Arthur smiled at him bitterly, holding back the tears as best he could. “Because... because I already have a King.”

Alfred stared at him bewildered. “W-what?” He wiped his eyes and stared at him, trying to make sense of what he said. “Arthur... w-what do you mean?”

Before Arthur could reply the doors to his room flung open and in walked that horrid man from before. Alfred gasped in horror as the wicked man stood there looking deranged, and his blood ran cold when he saw that the man was holding an axe in one of his hands. The man glared at Arthur before lunging at him, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling him away from Alfred. Arthur cried out in pain as he was dragged across the floor and out of the door.

“You disgusting little witch spawn!” The man kicked Arthur down the stairs, following him down as he tumbled down the cold stone steps. “You will regret pay for your transgressions against me!”

Alfred scrambled to his feet and could only chase after them. “Arthur!” He called out to him and watched as the horrid man continued to drag his beloved Arthur back into his garden.

He ran down the steps and through the doors, running out into Arthur’s garden. What he saw horrified him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Arthur’s beautiful garden, that he worked so hard to create and spent hours caring for, was completely wrecked. Flowers were crushed, bushes were pulled out and overturned, the herbs and other plants were now unrecognisable, and even the birdbath had been crushed. It was like a war zone and Alfred could only look at it with heartache. The only things left untouched were the five Elder Trees, the beautiful trees left to stand over the ruin that was once a paradise of a garden. Who could’ve done such a thing? Who would dare destroy such a beautiful place? No wonder Arthur was in tears, to see all of his hard work destroyed and ruined would’ve easily crushed him.

He heard a loud yelp and look over to see the horrid man standing over Arthur, who was laying sprawled in the floor. In a fit of panic he ran over towards them, not sure what he could even do in a situation like this but hoped that there was something he could try.

The man continued to shout at Arthur, who was struggling to get back up. “You thought you could hide this from me!? Thought I was too foolish to notice! Well you can’t fool me, you little freak!”

The man raised the axe and Alfred feared that he was going to strike it at Arthur.

“Please,” choked Arthur, spitting out blood, “it was never my intention to use them against you!”

“Liar!” The man then kicked Arthur across the face. “If you think you can overpower me than you can think again! I won’t let you!”

The man then left Arthur’s side and started to march towards one of the Elder Trees, that axe of his raised and ready to strike. Alfred gasped in horror when he realised what the man was about to do, and when Arthur noticed he actually screamed in terror.

“NO!” 

Arthur scrambled to his feet and made a bad dash for the man, reaching for the axe and trying to wrestle it out of his arms.

“Are you mad!?” shrieked Arthur, desperately trying to get the axe away from the man. “You’ll doom not only yourself but the whole world!”

“Let go!” barked the man, “let go or else! I command it!”

“Harming an Elder Tree will bring ruin!”

“Liar!”

“You can’t do this!”

“I can and I will! Now I command you to let go!”

“No!” shouted Arthur, using one of his hands to reach for the man’s collar, “I won’t let you! I won’t let you ruin the Kingdom like this!”

“What right do you have to command me!?” 

The man grew more violent but Arthur was not letting up. Arthur than snarled at him and shouted, “because I’m the Queen of Spades, you unworthy bastard!”

Arthur then tugged at the man’s collar so hard that it ripped but it also caused him to loose his footing and fall backwards. The man then slammed a foot down on Arthur’s chest, causing the poor man to cry out in agony, and Alfred was certain he heard a rib snap.

“Get off him!” shouted Alfred, glaring at the man, “Get off him now... you... what?”

Alfred stared at the man’s neck that had been exposed after Arthur ripped the collar apart. There imprinted upon it, just under his ear was a mark. A mark he knew all too well. It was the mark of the Spade Kingdom... the mark of the King of Spades.

“W-What...?” Alfred staggered backwards. “What is this?” He presses his hand against his chest. “But... But I’m the King of Spades! I am!”

The man sneered down at Arthur whilst Alfred stood there completely mortified by what he saw. “You may think you are the Queen of Spades, but as far as the rest of the world us concerned you don’t even exist! No one is coming to rescue you! No one one cares that you’re even here! Your words mean nothing! You will stay here until you’re old and grey, and no one will ever learn of your existence!”

Arthur gasped in pain as he tried to push that foot of his chest. “You... you don’t deserve to be King,” he wheezed, “someday a King will come who’ll be far more worthy than you could ever hope to be! And you’ll be forgotten! A mere part of history that no one will care for!”

The man’s scowl grew even more and he pressed his entire weight down onto that leg that trapped Arthur. Before Alfred could even try to think what was going on, a loud shrill voice echoed across the garden.

“Edward! Edward, why are you here again?”

Alfred looked up and saw a woman. For a second he didn’t recognise her but as she walked towards the man and Arthur, he suddenly realised who she was.

“It... it can’t be,” he stammered.

That perfect figure, that beautiful face, those golden brown locks... he had seen her before. He knew exactly who she was. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know who she was.

“Maria Somerset?”

The last Queen of Spades, the final Queen before they ceased to exist. Her face was in every history book and her paintings existed in every museum around the world. How could she be here? Why was she here? Arthur was the Queen, how could there be two of them? Was it the Joker playing another trick? What the hell was going on?

The man glared at her. “Not now Maria,” he spat, “now go away, I’m dealing with this annoyance.”

Maria stamped her foot down hard on the ground. “It’s not fair Edward,” she whined, “I thought you made me your Queen so you didn’t get overshadowed by this freak! Yet you always come up here behind my back! What’s he got that I don’t?”

“I ordered you to go back inside!” The man then stepped off Arthur and approached Maria. “We’ll discuss this later, now go! I’ll buy you that dress you had your eye on to make it up to you.”

“Oh fine,” spat Maria, stomping off. “Play with your stupid toy. When you want a real Queen, I’ll be in my room.”

As she walked away Alfred could watch after her, completely uncertain at what he just witnessed. Nothing was making sense. That man was the King of Spades? Maria Somerset knew him? How could that be? What was going on? She shouldn’t even be here for she was the Queen a hundred years ago... a hundred years ago... a hundred years... wait...

“No... no, no, no.” Alfred looked round and realised that with the garden in the state it was in, it resembled some other place he already knew of. “It can’t be... it can’t...”

“Please!”

Alfred looked over to see Arthur trying to crawl after the man, who was now standing in front of one of the Elder Trees and was raising that axe over it.

“Don’t do it!” begged Arthur, “I cant let you destroy his future! I won’t let you ruin Alfred’s Kingdom!”

His plea fell on deaf ears and Alfred watched as the man struck the tree with that sharp axe. The moment he did Alfred felt something shrieking directly into his brain. He grabbed his temples and cried out in agony as it felt like was screaming inside his own head. The world began to spin and he fell backwards, crying out as the screams grew louder and louder.

“It hurts!”

“Stop it!”

“Help me!”

“Please stop!”

“No!”

“Help me!”

“Help!”

“No more!”

Alfred screamed in agony, squeezing his eyes shut in some vain hope it would help. He could feel blood oozing out of his nose, and it felt like he was getting crushed by some enormous weight.

“You’ll pay!”

“You’ll pay!”

“We’ll make you all pay!”

“How dare you!”

“How dare you!”

“Suffer!”

Alfred rolled onto his side and opened his eyes. Everything was a blur but he could just make out the person laying next to him. He could see those green eyes, those thick eyebrows, and that messy golden hair belonging to the man he loved.

“Arthur,” he groaned, trying to reach him.

Arthur was saying something but he couldn’t make it out.

“I...ove...ou.”

“W-What? I can’t hear you.”

“... ove...”

“Arthur?”

“............”

“Arthur!”

The world around him was starting to disintegrate, and Alfred could only watch as Arthur vanished before his eyes, his smiling face disappearing as the world around him went dark. The screaming noise had vanished, along with the ruined garden and Alfred found himself alone in a dark void. He slowly sat up and looked around, trying to find some sign of life.

“Arthur!”

He called out his name, hoping he’d answer, praying that he’d answer, but there was nothing. No sound. No nothing. Just emptiness all around. However he soon heard the faint sound of crying. For a second he thought it was Arthur but the sobs were of a higher pitch and sounded like it was coming from someone much younger.

Looking around some more he finally spotted a dreadful sight. In that dark void he saw the strange girl, hunched over and crying with her back to him. Around her were the four corpses of young children, their blood still fresh and pouring out of their small bodies. The girl continued to cry and cry, as if she was shedding endless tears in the hopes it would revive her fallen friends.

Before he could reach out to her, someone called out to him.

“Your majesty? How did you get here?”

Alfred spun round and found himself looking at a gardener, the elderly man appearing terribly confused with the presence of his King. Looking up Alfred realised that he had somehow returned to his palace and instead of ending up in the Gathering Hall, he was in the Elder Tree garden.

“Did you warp out of that meeting your majesty? Pardon my intrusion but I don’t think you should be doing that.”

Looking around the garden, Alfred studied every inch of it with careful eyes, ignoring the gardener as he continued to chatter away. The more he gazed about the secluded garden, the more he started to realise something familiar about it.

High walls.

The enclosed space.

A single Elder Tree growing in the centre.

It couldn’t be but the more he looked the more he realised where exactly he was.

“This... this is his garden.”

“Pardon your majesty?”

Alfred found his heart beating harder and harder against his chest as the truth was hitting him hard. He was unable to escape it as it was becoming a painful reality and try as he might he could not deny what his mind was telling him. Although there were many things different about it, he recognised the patterns in the walls and the whole shape of the Elder Tree garden itself.

This was Arthur’s garden.

He immediately looked over at a certain corner of the garden, a corner where the door that should lead to Arthur’s room was located. There was nothing there but a stone wall with sone vines growing along it. He marched towards it, his eyes completely focused on it and as he drew closer he could just make out that the pattern of the brickwork was slightly different in that corner.

The gardener chased after him. “Your majesty, are you alright?”

As Alfred got closer to that wall he raised his fist and without warning he smashed it against the stone. The gardener yelped and jumped back as the old brickwork crumbled away, turning into a pile of rubble at Alfred’s feet. Once the dust settled, Alfred looked up and gazed in disbelief at what he saw. The wall had been concealing a dark passageway, riddled with cobwebs and dust. He entered and could make out those steps, the same steps he would walk up and down with Arthur.

He walked up them, ignoring the cobwebs that clung to him, reaching the top to find a set of doors that were sealed shut with a rusty chain. Without any effort he forced them open, the chain breaking apart easily and falling to the floor, the doors groaning loudly as they had been opened for the first time in a long time.

Alfred entered the room and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked on with woeful disbelief when he realised where he was. Bookshelves filled with rotten books. Furniture falling apart with vermin nesting in the torn up cushions. A fireplace that had not been used in ages with a mound of ash. A tea set that had been left abandoned upon the coffee table, a single decorated tea cup sitting by itself with a small spider crawling out of it.

Taking a single step forward, Alfred fell to his knees as he now had no choice but to accept the truth.

“You were here the whole time.”


End file.
